


Nori Carino: Official In-Training

by SystemError



Series: Nori Carino series [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Athletes, Beta Pokemon, Bigotry & Prejudice, Boys Hugging, Boys Hugging Too Much, Bullying, Child Neglect, Childhood Romance, Concussions, Electric-type Pokemon, Elementary School, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Hazing, Mentors, Nightmares, Pokemon Gym Leaders, Pokemon Gyms, Pokemon Training, Precocious Crushes, School, Shinou-chihou | Sinnoh Region (Pokemon), Skateboarding, Slice of Life, Training, Underage Drinking, Young Love, exercise, waterparks, waterslides
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:21:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 56,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26726599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SystemError/pseuds/SystemError
Summary: Young Nori Carino is an official in-training, set to become the world's first Pokemon Rehabilitator, to help troubled Pokemon reform. He has moved to Sunyshore City to study under its Gym Leader, but finds trouble in balancing education with training, the Gym Leader's apathy, the expectations upon him, and harassment from various sources. Will he cope, or will he crack?
Series: Nori Carino series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1670560
Comments: 10
Kudos: 2





	1. The Last December at Home

¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _???????? ??_

A group of young males had gathered at Sunyshore City's highest point. They were trespassing on the solar panels that led to the observatory on the highest cliffs. While the city was famous for this source of electricity which doubled as pedestrian transport, some were closed to the general public for being linked to private property, or in this case, safety.

They had brought a cooler up, which had several cans of soda, beer, and a walkie-talkie atop it. Nori Carino glanced at the four others, who all watching with mixed expressions. Some hostile, with at least one greatly worried. It was as though he was urging him not to do this.

A dark-skinned teenager in a white and gold shirt with black trousers walked up and stood beside him. He held a red skateboard plastered with skull decals. "You'd better be ready for this, kid. You know the rules, right?"

He looked down at his feet, one of which was propped on his own board. He slowly nodded. First across the finish line at the bottom, he knew that. A girl was down there serving as the judge. This didn't mean he liked this, however. He hated it. He didn't want to go through with it, but that guy had practically forced him.

This was way too dangerous and they didn't seem to care, or if so weren't speaking up. People weren't allowed on here for good reason - these panels were known to be slippery at times, and it was very steep. And because it wasn't intended to be used by people, the guardrails were inadequate. They were knee high and relatively thin, compared to the usual ones being just a bit taller than the average person. Just enough so you couldn't step off by mistake, but going down on a skateboard...

"You ready?" asked the teenager.

He wasn't, but they wouldn't care. The boy gazed down the huge slope, wondering how it had come to this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _ **The Last December At Home**_  
¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _December 28th, 2014_

The Veilstone City trailer park was located on the east end. It was divided into six segments where trailers were scattered about: the center, back center, and the four corners. Large outlets scattered about allowed for the vehicles to receive power, for a fee.

Nori Carino was standing just outside his mom's trailer, located in the central area. He was dressed in a light gray jacket with a worn shirt beneath it, simple blue jeans, and black boots. The winter air clawed at his skin, but anyone from Sinnoh was used to it. He wore a black backpack, which contained his clothes and school supplies. He also had a small black and yellow bag at his feet, which had everything else that didn't fit. His Pokemon was tucked away in his pocket. With him were his mother Ayume, his friend and neighbor Rashid al-Bahar, and his friend Maylene Gavali.

He thought back to how this all began in August. He had been returning home with someone he'd just met - Prema Kannagi, a girl who was just visiting Veilstone - when a notorious Pokemon known as the Demon took refuge under his home. He spoke up for the Nidorina in the face of a platoon of police, and unwittingly made a bet with the city's Gym Leader that he could reform it. Doing so and actually defeating her in the battle that followed a week later led to the Officials offering him a position. He accepted at his mom's urging, and the day had come where he would be setting off. He was going to learn from a top official to become the world's first Pokemon Rehabilitator.

"I can't believe you're going..." Maylene droned. She was three years younger than him, friends in spite of the age difference. The pink-haired girl was wearing a long blue and white scarf with a striped pattern, a fluffy white coat, dark blue pants, and simple sneakers. Nori was impressed she walked all the way through the snow to see him off.

"Me neither." He'd known Maylene for over two years now. She was like the younger sister he never had, and vice-versa.

"He will be all right. Won't you, Norcar?" Rashid said, somehow not cold in just a white shirt and jeans. There was also a major age difference between him and his other friend. Rashid was seventeen to Nori's twelve. The boy considered him quirky. Especially when it came to girls in magazines. Despite that, Rashid was the closest thing Nori had to having someone else to look up to besides his mom. Though not like an older brother at all.

To the question, Nori remained silent. He wasn't sure about that. The painful reality was he was going to have to say goodbye to everyone he knew here. Even if it was just for a while, even if he made new friends where he was going, that was going to hurt.

His mom smiled at him in reassurance. She was in a long purple winter jacket that went all the way to her ankles. Nori had never met his dad, though imagined some of his looks came from him. All he got from his mom was his soft skin (or so she said) and how his hair grew the same way as hers. Hers was a full black to his chestnut however, and her eyes a deep brown to his soft dark red. "I know you're going to do well, Nori. You're like me when you put your mind to things. It shows in your report cards."

Rashid nodded. "Yes, you are one who gets bent for leather when you are wanting to."

"It's not grades I'm worried about." Despite what some might believe given his occasional rebellious attitude, Nori was actually a good student. By no means top honors, but just behind. What they said about his diligence was very true. His experience with the Demon proved that. Still, he couldn't have done that by himself. He needed to lean on his mom's and Prema's support. "What I'm worried about is not having you guys around anymore. And, you not having me."

"It is fine. I will not be seeing you, but I know you will be out there, learning how to be working." The tan-skinned teenager smiled goofily and nodded. "We will be cheering you on from far. Knowing you are becoming a man is worth it all to us."

His mom agreed, "You're growing up Nori, and so fast too."

"That helps a bit, but..." He looked to Maylene, whose slumped posture gave away her disdain. Just as he was worried, this was going to be difficult for her. "Maylene?"

The pink-haired girl snapped to attention. "I'm fine," she said, blatantly faking a brave face. "You'll be back eventually, right?"

"Yeah..." This was the hardest part. He was Maylene's only friend. As far as Nori saw it, this was like abandoning her. That was something he hated the very thought of doing. The one thing that eased his mind was that Maylene eventually understood and accepted it. But no matter what the future held, the road getting there was going to be difficult.

He looked back to the others, immediately spotting the tears in his mom's eyes. "What's wrong, ma?" he asked. Calling her that was a habit. "I know, you're sad I'm leaving."

"Yes," she did not deny. "A mother hates to see her child go. But, I'm also happy for you, Nori. I used to worry about your future before, but..." Wiping her tears, she stood firm. "I'm glad you're doing this."

Nori still didn't completely understand why his mom wanted him to do this. The gist of what he did know is that she wanted him to have a better life than she was able to give him. She mentioned something about possibly not being able to afford things anymore, but didn't get how that could be the case.

"But," he said. He wanted to make this clear. "I am going to miss you all. I don't even know how long this is going to be, so..." The papers he signed said he was going to be studying under one of the top trainers in the region ‘until such time that [his] expertise with Pokemon is deemed sufficient’. And with his near total lack of experience, how long that would be was up in the air. It might be a couple months. It might be several years. It all depended how well he did, and how much they expected from him. "...well. I'll try to write you when I can. If I can."

He sighed and looked up. His mom and Rashid smiled, giving him separate nods as if to say it was okay. That made him feel just a bit better about this. Which left one other person, who took the initiative herself.

"Um, Nori?" Maylene shuffled towards him. She twirled one of her pigtails.

"Yes?"

Without a warning, Maylene leaned forward and pressed her lips against his for a brief moment. The young girl held her mouth in disbelief at herself. She giggled. "Bye!" With this, she ran off.

Nori was left frozen, and not because of the cold. In fact, he felt his cheeks were about to burn right up.

"Haha!" Rashid gave him a hearty clap on the back. "Congratulations on the girl, Norcar."

That snapped him out of his stupor, but Nori continued to stare blankly. He knew Maylene had kind of a childish crush on him. He didn't do anything, since it'd be really weird given he was twelve and she was nine. Still, he wasn't expecting her to do that! Especially now!

"Well I, uh...should get going soon myself. My bus leaves soon, and...you know..." This was too flustering. She kissed him right in front of his mom and his neighbor and who knows who else saw that! He felt so, so red in the face right now.

His mom patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it too much for now, Nori."

"Yeah..." Not that he could do anything about it right now. Things were going to be really awkward when he saw her again. He gave his mom a hug and slapped hands with Rashid before picking up his carry bag and heading out.

Nori took one last look at the trailer park, and the vehicle he lived in. He wouldn't see it again for a long time. It had been his home since he could remember, and the longest he'd ever been away from it was a week. That was when his mom won a cruise that she hauled him along on.

The boy paused in his tracks.

Bad memories came flooding into his mind. He shuddered. That was the only time he had been far out of Veilstone before this, and he really wished he hadn't. Nori managed to suppress these thoughts, and continued on his way to the bus depot.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··December 29th, 2014_

Nori made it to the NR Bus station without incident. The Officials had sent him a ticket for the 4:00pm. Everything went smoothly, aside from witnessing some towering woman flipping out over a form she filled being declared invalid. It seemed to be a minor issue. He heard the shrinking receptionist nervously say something about not capitalizing Gloom - as in, the Pokemon. The woman screamed it was an outrage, a waste of time, and threatened she knew a land development person. The only thing stopping the boy from yelling at her was that it happened shortly before boarding time, and that a security guard appeared to be headed to remove her anyway.

The ride went smoothly. Despite the snow-covered roads and even a brief blizzard, the bus kept rolling on. Nori marveled at the sights of Sinnoh's wilderness during the ride, even as the sun had set and others were falling asleep around him. He wondered, is this the kind of thing that traveling trainers get to see regularly? It almost felt like it'd be worth it.

Once the bus arrived at the depot, a cab was waiting to take him the rest of the way. That drive felt as if they had to go from one end of the city to the other. There was little traffic because of how late it was, so it didn't take as long as it could've. It was just past midnight by the time he finally arrived.

He was dropped off before a large two-floored square building with a domed roof. A series of solar panels encircled the silver and red structure, although it was hooked up to the power lines. Though the neon sign over the front door was off, Nori could still see that it read Sunyshore City Gym.

A strawberry blond man with a short mop of hair was leaning against a streetpost in front of the building. He was in an orange blazer over a thick white sweater, with dark brown work pants and black gloves. He looked up, equal parts relief and irritation in his blue eyes.

"Hi, I'm Nori Carino," the boy introduced himself. "I was told to come here. Are you, um, the Gym Leader?"

The man scratched his cheek. He took five seconds to reply. "Volkner Denzi."

"Nice to meet you!"

Nori extended his hand for a shake. It was polite to do that, right? Volkner stared at him blankly, not accepting the gesture. The boy eventually retracted his hand in dejection. Did he not want to? Maybe he was just too worn out. It was late, after all. "So I guess you're the official who's going to be training me?"

Volkner rolled his shoulders, then shrugged them. "Seems so."

"Good to be working with you!" So this was the official who was going to teach him how to ‘train'em like the pros’ (as that guy put it)! Nori may not have been into Pokemon until last August, but even he knew Volkner was renowned as one of the strongest Gym Leaders in Sinnoh, alongside Clint, Flint, or whatever his name was. The Officials had gotten him one of the best teachers possible.

The Gym Leader straightened upright. "In." He pointed at and started walking towards the automatic doors. Nori dutifully followed behind.

Only around a quarter of the lights were on in the Gym. Made sense, that saved power when barely anyone was in there. The entrance lobby was fairly open with a few TVs that were off, a few sofas and tables, some vending machines, and reception desks near each far corner. There was a shuttered concession area on the left with a menu over it. There were fancy-looking yellow doors straight ahead, and two hallways leading off between them and the reception areas.

Nori stood quietly, Volkner not doing anything for about ten seconds. The Gym Leader eventually sighed. "I'll give you a tour."

That would be helpful! Nori smiled as Volkner started explaining. "Lobby. Challengers and visitors can stay here and register to battle. There's concessions too." As he went along, he gestured to each place with a palm. "Public bathrooms and spectator entrances are down the right hall. Challengers come in through the front. Left hall is Gym Trainer's entrances, treatment facilities, supply closets, and administration. Back end of the Gym is restricted. You can't go there."

Nori nodded. He liked exploring, enough that he knew almost all of Veilstone like the back of his hand. But he respected things like private property and restricted areas. Most of the time.

Volkner led him through the big yellow doors. "Here's the Gym's puzzle. Off right now." The room was strange. The sides of the room were higher than the middle, which led down into a 4x4 grid of gears with different colored markings on each. There appeared to be switches on the inside and outside. A pair of similar doors to where they entered were on the other side.

"A puzzle?" Nori tilted his head. "Veilstone's didn't have one."

"Some don't. These and the Gym Trainers are to weed out challengers not worth a Leader's time." Nori tilted his head. There was a lot more to Gyms than he thought.

They passed through into the room beyond. "Here's the battlefield." It spanned both floors of the building. Nori had only seen Veilstone's Gym before, and this was quite ordinary compared to that. The only distinguishing features about this one were the tall pillars on the battlefield. Six in total. One near each corner, plus two along the sides. The latter were closer towards the middle rather than being parallel with the others. The floor was like, well. What you'd see in a gymnasium. There were also a pair of balconies to watch from above on the bottom left and top right corners, from where he walked in.

"That's it here." Volkner turned and left so quick, Nori almost didn't realize. He had to hustle to keep up as the Gym Leader kept moving, towards the doors leading into the left hallway from earlier.

As they emerged, they were in a slightly open area. There was a door leading to a small office here, another vending machine, and two sets of steps that led up and down. "Other floors are staff only. You count as one." The Gym Leader glanced. "Downstairs is just generators and maintenance rooms. Let's go up." Volkner motioned for Nori to follow.

As they went upstairs, Nori spotted a black and yellow humanoid critter wandering about. It had a rounded body and its head looked like an electrical plug.

"An Elekid?" Nori asked. "In the halls?"

"Gym Pokemon. Helps with image and security. They're tame. Just don't provoke them." Nori nodded. He wasn't planning to, though made a mental note to keep his Nidorina in check. "Staff rooms are up here. Just read on what's the door."

They rounded a corner immediately on the left and walked down the halls. Nori took stock of the label plates. Security. Bathrooms. Showers. Laundry. Training room. Exercise room. A couple that read Storage. Balcony, which Nori presumed there were two of as well.

For one room, Volkner did speak up. "Trainer's lounge. Kitchen and food's in here. Don't pig out, don't burn the place down."

Nori felt insulted. "I've been cooking since I was a kid, who do you think I am?"

Volkner didn't even slow down or acknowledge this. He rounded the next corner and continued walking until they came to a room at the end of this hallway. "And here's your room."

"I get to stay in the Gym?"

"It's easier." He reached into his coat and threw a keychain at Nori. The boy nearly fumbled it after making the catch. "Here. Your room, security room, training rooms, front door. Lock up if you go out and no one's here."

The boy looked at it in wonder. His mom never trusted him with a key for the longest time. Now here he was getting a key to a Pokemon Gym of all things! He'd get to stay there, and he'd have his own room too! This was great!

He did a small hop. "So are we gonna get started tomorrow?" he cheerfully asked.

A blank stare. "It's winter break."

"So in the new year, then!"

Volkner sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead. "Can't believe this..." He walked off without giving Nori an answer.

Well, maybe Volkner was just tired. He was too, but was just too excited to let it get to him. He unlocked his door and went inside. It was clearly makeshift, but it alone was bigger than his family trailer. There was a dresser with a mirror, a cot, a desk, a clock radio, and even a whole extra closet! He put his bags down in front of the dresser, and on a whim decided he'd check out the rest of the upstairs before even thinking about sleeping.


	2. January of Meetings (first part)

¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _ **Month 1: January of Meetings**_  
¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 2nd, 2015_

The glimmer of the sun shining through his window welcomed Nori to a new day. The boy looked at the digital clock in his room. 7:53am. Earlier than he usually woke up, but close enough that he didn't mind pulling himself out of bed and getting ready for the day.

He was still getting used to living here in the Gym. Not having his mom around or being able to go out and see people around the neighborhood or city was a huge change. There was a lot more room in here compared to his family trailer. If he wasn't used to the vastness of outdoors, it might have been overwhelming.

He looked himself over in the mirror on his dresser. He'd cut his chestnut-colored hair before coming here, so it was easy to maintain that. His red eyes held readiness inside their soft irises. He was in his usual clothes. Blue jeans (durable and hardy, good when you can't afford much), a simple shirt (this one lime green), and his favorite light vest atop it - green with a leafy texture. Green was his favorite color. Even his summer jacket was green and black. Satisfied with his appearance, he stepped out into the hallway and made his way to the trainers' lounge.

Once there, he opened a cupboard and retrieved a packet of oatmeal. One thing familiar here was his meals. He still often ate this, along with ramen, canned foods, and other things you could easily cook on a stove. Furthermore, there were snacks in the cupboards. He rarely ever had those at home, and it was often fruit when he did. Not only were those present, but there were had bread, chips, cookies, crackers, granola bars, and even chocolate available. The fridge had the likes of milk, juice, fruit, vegetables, cheese, various meats, and sandwiches - which were delivered to the Gym regularly from a local bread store.

He mixed a bit of cinnamon in with the oatmeal and sat down as it started to heat up. So far, the days had been dull. Thankfully, the clock in his room doubled as a radio. Listening to it, especially radio dramas, was one of his favorite pastimes and one of the few he could do at home. The lounge had a television, but he rarely used it except to watch the news. He made sure to let his Nidorina out for some practice in the training room each day. He even used some of the human exercise equipment himself. Officials had to be in physical shape too, so it helped to compensate for the exercise that was lost by being constrained to the Gym.

\---

Half an hour later after he had eaten, he left the trainers' lounge to use the bathroom. As he was leaving, he heard voices from downstairs. Of course. The holidays were nearly over, so the Gym would be reopening soon. That meant it was finally time for him to start studying how to become a Pokemon Rehabilitator. Volkner had been absent, but he would be back now.

Sure enough, as Nori went down the stairs and stepped into the Gym's lobby, the Leader was there. He was in a black coat with blue lining with an electric yellow undershirt, and matching pants. Volkner was not the only one present. He was addressing three older boys.

"You're awake," Volkner spoke up as Nori stepped in.

"Oh, there's people here?"

In the middle was a dark-skinned teenager with a buzz cut. The tallest of them at around 160cm, he was wearing a white and gold shirt with black trousers. He peered skeptically at Nori with his gray eyes. To his left was a slightly shorter one, distinctly of pure Japanese heritage. He had black hair and brown eyes, and had on a white polo with black slacks. Was he trying to dress formal? His expression was unreadable. The last was a short and stout one with greasy red hair that went to his ears. He was wearing jeans and a black shirt that was too big even for him, which had a red circle with a wing grasping a skull in the middle, and the text DARK NIGHTWINGZ written around it.

"These are the Gym Trainers," Volkner said. He turned back to the trio. "This is who I'll be training over the next few months. I'll expect you to pitch in, too."

The dark-skinned teen arched an eyebrow. "This precious-looking kid?" He shook his head in disbelief. The others were dubious about this too, but he was the most open about it.

"Don't call me a kid," Nori snapped. And precious, too?!

The large one laughed heartily. Nori cringed. He was missing a few teeth. "Well you are a kid, little kid."

"And you're fat!" he fired back.

"Hey!"

The other two laughed. The formally dressed one poked his compatriot in the belly. "Well, it is true that you are."

"All right, that's enough," Volkner interrupted. Nori huffed in relief. An argument could've broken out there if he didn't step in. The blond man looked around. "Where's Kallisto?"

The two on the sides gave vacant gazes. They looked to the dark-skinned teen. He shrugged. "Called him last night, and he's still not back from visiting his cousin. He's been training with her over break."

The Gym Leader grumbled. "Great. There go my plans." He paced around for a few seconds before speaking up. "Just prep the Gym for the Monday reopening." He eyed Nori. "You help too."

"Sure," the boy agreed. "It'll be something to do, at least."

"I'll be in the back. Call if you need me." With this, Volkner swiftly started down the hall.

The three Gym Trainers walked up to Nori. He got his guard up physically and mentally. He'd insulted one of them. Well, insulted back. He was ready for a confrontation because of that. The middle one spoke. "So you're the new meat who caught the Demon, huh?"

Nori couldn't believe it. Aside from some self-superior derision in his tone, that was surprisingly normal. "Yup. I'm Nori Carino!" he introduced. "Um." Right, handshake! He stuck out his hand, but the three just glared at it.

"Cut the formalities," the dark-skinned teen said, nearly swatting his hand away. "Edward Hankstein. Everyone calls me Eddie, though. Second best Gym Trainer here."

"Tono Ashi," spoke the well-dressed one. He punctuated it with half a bow.

The large one marched up. Nori could see the irritation in his blue eyes, but didn't concede even a centimeter. "I'm Ollie Gooch, kid, and you better show some respect!"

Eddie snorted. "Tub 'o goo."

"Hey!"

Okay, that was creative. Even Nori had to laugh at that one. He didn't feel bad about making fun of the guy, given how hostile he was being.

"So just one word of advice for now," said Eddie. Nori took pause. He was smiling, but it was a fake smile. "You ain't hot stuff. You just got a real strong Pokemon and surprised your opponent. That's all."

"Well, I mean, I know that, but–"

"Good. Remember that." Who was he to say that? Nori grumbled and was about to protest, but Eddie kept talking. "Tono, go test the puzzle with him. Ollie, you start on cleaning the floors and check on the battlefield's condition. I'll go to the maintenance room and check if anything's shorted or damaged."

Ollie groaned, but Eddie had already started to leave. "Fine. Lanturn, help me out with this."

He took a Poke Ball off his belt and sent out a sizable fish Pokemon with a two-sided antenna. Its body was mostly blue, but there was some yellow around its eyes and the bottom of its tail fin. A Water type? Probably Electric too given the Gym's theme. Nori guessed he was going to have it help wash the floors.

Tono motioned for Nori to follow. Right, he had something to do, too. "So, Nori Carino. Are you intelligent?" he asked.

"Well, I get all As and Bs."

"We will see if you can do the puzzle, then."

##########

¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 5th, 2015_

The first day of Nori's training coincided with the Gym's reopening. But before that, it was his first day at his new school. Nori would be attending West Sunyshore Elementary. He didn't have much attachment to his old school, so he mostly saw this as a chance to make new friends and get a fresh start.

The school was just over three blocks away from the Gym. Much closer than his old school was to the trailer he used to live in. He didn't even have to worry about crossing any streets. Sunyshore City was famous for its solar panels that doubled as overpasses for pedestrians. They weren't ubiquitous; most were in downtown or around other major locations, and not all of them were open to the public. But there were enough to get around easily in those locations, especially during winter given they were heated. If it weren't for the normal buildings, Nori felt it'd look like a futuristic sci-fi city.

All he had to do was get up onto them from the access across from the Gym, follow it north until the third path down, cross a field, and he'd be right there.

It was a Sinnoh winter, so he was hiking through the snow when not on the heated walkways. Nothing he wasn't used to. He used to love exploring around Veilstone. Especially in the winter, to see how different things looked with snow everywhere. As he was passing through the field however, his attention was captured by two boys who looked to be around his age. They both had backpacks on like he did.

One of them was towering over the other. Nori guessed he was nearly 145cm. He had spiky brown hair and was wearing a black hoodie with jeans. He had pulled up the left sleeve, showing an orange skull wristband. The other, nervously pressed against a tree, had indigo eyes and messy purple hair. He had to be like 25cm shorter, maybe more. He was wearing a gray and faded blue sweater, badly contrasted with snow pants that were such a bright red that it seemed the color wanted to leap off the material.

"Uh, what're you doing?" he called out to them.

The taller boy glanced over for a brief moment, which the other one used as a chance to run away as fast as his legs could carry him. "Pft. Ran off," the remaining one muttered. Nori knew full well that there had been bullying going on, but didn't say anything about it. The spiky-haired boy shook his head and turned to face him. "You headin' to school?"

"Yeah. Shouldn't you be too?"

"Gonna cut for a bit. Heard the Scrafty Bastards are gonna be makin' an appearance at the V in half an hour." Oh, them. The metal band kids liked because it let them swear right in front of teachers when talking about it. "Frickin' believe it? Right as school starts. Wanna come?"

Nori shrugged. "Just moved here, so I shouldn't miss my first day. Won't tell anyone you cut, though." Snitches get stitches, after all.

"A'right," the other boy nodded. "Name's Spike, by the way. Solaceon native, but my pops moved here for work."

"Nori Carino. Veilstone native, but I moved here to study."

Spike's mouth fell into an O-shape. "Whoa, THE Nori Carino?"

Nori grinned. Looks like his reputation had preceded him. "Yup," he confirmed. While he'd have liked to chat a bit more with this guy, he had to get going. "Anyway, catch you later."

"Cool. Peace, man."

Spike held out a fist which Nori bumped with his own, before they continued on their separate ways.

\---

"We have a new student joining us today, class."

Nori's first day at his new school started with the teacher, Mrs. DeWood, calling him to the front. She was a slender woman with flowing blonde hair. Though the school did not have a uniforms policy for its students, the faculty wore them: simple white and navy blue outfits that sort of looked like suits, though they weren't.

"Why don't you introduce yourself?"

That was only natural. Nori knew some kids had problems with talking in front of their peers. Even he used to. After he fought a Pokemon battle in front of a hostile crowd at Veilstone Gym, this was nothing anymore.

"Hi, I'm Nori Carino." As with Spike, there were a number of surprised reactions. Some of them began chattering excitedly amongst themselves. "See that a bunch of you already know me. Saves us the time, but I look forward to getting to know some of you."

Despite some incidents at his old school, he was usually considered one of the cooler kids, if one that was hard to approach. The incident with the Demon amplified both aspects. He wasn't actually expecting word of it to get this far, but he had to admit, it was nice.

"Well, why don't you take a seat, Nori?" Mrs. DeWood said. She pointed to one of the two available ones. Up front, second from the left if you were facing the chalkboard. Annoying, but no surprise. Most kids want to sit at the back, including him. It's just cool, and you can do things without everyone else seeing, especially the teacher. The other open seat was in the back, but Nori decided to take the one he was asked to.

He sat down, placing his bag next to him and retrieving the binder from within. Thankfully, a new semester meant he didn't have to worry about joining in the middle of any lessons. He looked to his right neighbor, seeing a black-haired girl in a light blue shirt and capris. She wore glasses, and was looking down at her notebook. He looked to his left, and was momentarily surprised when he saw the purple-haired boy from before there. That was a coincidence, running into him before school.

"Psst, new kid! Nori!"

He turned around to see a red-haired girl behind him. She had on simple feminine clothing along with a sky-blue sweater vest. Her blue eyes were almost sparkling.

"Want to come hang out after school with me and my friends?" the girl asked, a warm smile on her lips.

Already?! He was at least hoping they'd wait until break to talk to him. Not that it really mattered. "The Gym Leader wants me back right away, so I can't."

She was disappointed, but smiled and nodded. "Maybe next time."

Well, at least it looked like he had nothing to worry about on the popularity front. He preferred to get to know some people first before he committed to hanging out with anyone regularly. He didn't want any one-sided friendships or anything. Still, didn't mean he couldn't be acquainted with others, even if they weren't friends.

=====

Later on in the afternoon, Nori found himself standing on one end of the battlefield of the Gym. He was uncertain of why Volkner had called him here, only getting an inkling when he returned with the Gym Trainers in tow. He was carrying a brown plastic bag.

"Kallisto's running late," he said, continuing to walk towards the table situated on the side of the battlefield. The teenagers remained opposite him. "But I want to see how you battle. So get out the Demon. You'll be facing everyone."

"Uh, okay." That was very blunt and to the point. A realization quickly hit him. "Hey, wait! Won't it be unfair fighting all these people in a row with just one Pokemon?"

Volkner reached into the bag. He retrieved a number of small cream-toned crystals and spray bottles - orange and yellow - placing them on the table. "Potions and Revives. A few Paralyze Heals too. We'll use them as we have to."

Well those wouldn't do much for stamina. Still, with how everyone was looking at him expectantly, he'd just have to accept this for what it was.

"All right, all right," Nori said with a sigh. "Nidorina, battle time."

The teal quadruped that appeared was larger and fiercer than the average of her species. There were spikes all over her body; she even had a small horn and knife-like protrusions on her ears. She roared and quickly got into a ready stance, bringing out her sharp claws and flashing her jagged teeth at her opponents. 

"I'll be up first!" Ollie boasted, although Nori could tell his voice was breaking a bit under the gaze of the fearsome creature. "Hope you're ready to lose four times in a row! Lanturn, go!"

Out came the Pokemon from a couple days ago. This mildly surprised Nori. He was actually going to use the fish to fight? Well. He wouldn't have sent it out if it couldn't fight on land. It would be silly if fish Pokemon were just helpless out of water, after all.

"Begin," Volkner said. He had a notebook in front of him and a pen in his right hand.

May as well start the fight the same way as usual! In fact, Nidorina was already getting to it, charging right in. She used to do this all the time, even against his orders. Now she did so because it's what Nori usually wanted, but readily listened if he asked or signaled otherwise. They had a dynamic most trainers would consider unusual.

The large teen grinned. "You're running right into our Spark!" 

Ollie said this, but the once-Demon was just that much faster. She closed the distance before Lanturn could gather up the energy crackling around its top, smacking it away with a body blow.

The large teen cringed. Quickly getting his bearings back, he sneered at them. "Water Gun, Lanturn!"

"Don't let up," Nori calmly said. "Double Kick."

As the angler fish recovered, it took a deep breath. As it started to lean back, it was quickly met with feet in its face. It hacked, spewing a feeble amount of liquid out. All it could do to defend itself was try to tense up.

"Now Cut." Simply and beautifully executed. In one fluid motion, the teal Pokemon whirled around and sliced the enemy Pokemon right between its eyes. "Now bite it. Right on the antenna thing." That should shut down any Electric moves, maybe.

"Flash! Get back!" Ollie yelped. A brilliant pulse of light burst from their target. It dazzled Nidorina, but in spite of this she almost got the fish as it was hopping back. Ollie was now hyperventilating. "Get away! Bounce!"

Lanturn flopped, propelling itself into the air right as Nidorina was lashing out to Crunch at it again. She looked up and started running in a circle. She glanced over to Nori to convey she was thinking something. Nori gave his approval. Whatever she was up to, he trusted her to make the right choice.

The blue and yellow Pokemon landed a second after and bounded towards Nidorina. It flipped in midair, aimed precisely to intercept her. But she had other ideas. The once-Demon slowed down enough to make this miss, summarily slamming into it with a vicious Skull Bash. The Lanturn flew back into the air and crashed into one of the pillars lining the battlefield.

"Wait!" Ollie tried to protest as his Pokemon fell slack. "You cheap bastard! I wasn't ready for that! I–"

"Nori wins," Volkner interrupted in a plain tone. "Next."

"Son of a bitch!" Ollie stamped a foot as he recalled his Pokemon. He stormed back, crossed his arms, and turned away.

Tono stepped forward next. With a simple nod, he threw a ball onto the ground. A strange black Pokemon appeared. Nori's Pokemon was covered in spikes, but this Pokemon was almost all spikes. Aside from beady eyes and a two-segmented yellow mouth or nose, its body was just a black circular blob with gray-tipped needles sticking out. It curiously had a weird blue can of something tied to its body.

"Pincurchin!?" Eddie gasped. It got Ollie's attention too. Even Volkner seemed taken aback at this strange choice of Pokemon.

"I am thinking defense," the bespectacled teen elaborated. The others understood at once.

Nori was more confused at the Pokemon itself rather than the fact that he chose it. "I've never seen or heard of that Pokemon before."

"You would not. It is a foreign Pokemon."

"Well, whatever it is, the goal's the same. Defeat it!" He clapped his hands and turned to his Pokemon. "Right?" He got a roar of approval from her.

Tono and Eddie exchanged some quick words, showing very mild concern that was ultimately brushed off. Volkner shrugged and once again said, "Begin."

Immediately after Volkner said this, a wave of electricity came from Pincurchin and enveloped the entire battlefield! Nori scuttled back in panic, to the laughter of the Gym Trainers. Mercifully, this only covered where the Pokemon were fighting, and did not appear to be affecting his Pokemon adversely. Yet it had to be doing something.

The former Demon did not immediately rush in. She had started occasionally approaching things with more tact. Nori, seeing no reason not to, told her as he took his position again, "Go on, get in there!"

Tono smirked. "Protect, Unira." A nickname? What kind of nickname was that, though? Nidorina slammed face-first into a translucent globe that appeared around the other Pokemon. Tono pushed up his glasses as she staggered back. "Now, power up with Acupressure."

Unira vibrated as it retracted a number of its needles. Nidorina recovered quickly and socked it right in the face with a glowing purple claw. The strategy quickly dawned on Nori: hit it between the spikes!

Yet Tono was eerily unconcerned. "Zing Zap."

"Get away!" Nori wasn't sure what that was at first, but his instincts took over. Sure enough as she evaded, the needles grew and expanded. She just avoided a direct hit, getting off with just a glancing prickle.

"Now Bubble Beam, Unira." While this...this Pincurchin thing, didn't seem very mobile - it had yet to move from where it started the battle aside from turning - its reaction time was on-point. It opened its maw and spewed a stream of bubbles at Nori's Pokemon which landed true.

This seemed more annoying than painful to Nidorina, who again charged in and started swiping away, ethereal energies within her claws. Tono's eyes went as wide as Voltorbs. Did he pick this Pokemon to deter melee attacks with its prickly body? Is that what he meant by defense? Well if so, it completely didn't matter!

"We need a bigger attack than before. So, Discharge!"

Nidorina didn't have to be told to get back; she in fact sprinted behind the other Pokemon. A massive burst of electricity emerged from Unira. The strange current along the ground seemed to help it spark further. Was that what it was doing? It was so much that his Pokemon couldn't fully avoid the attack. Ultimately, she shook it off.

"Recover, Unira!" There was some anger in Tono's voice. Unira closed its eyes and attempted to focus, only for Nidorina to come up from behind, grab it, and suplex it into the ground. Nori grinned as the spiked creature was wedged.

"Nice one!" he cheered. Using those spikes against it. He never would've thought of that, but knew what to do from here! "Now, finish it with Body Slam." She was all too happy to oblige. Tono could only watch as Nidorina jumped and crashed down on the prickly black thing. It was already barely moving before that attack, squirming in a vain attempt to free itself. But it was completely still afterwards.

"Nori wins," Volkner again said. He peered at the still crackling battlefield. "We'll wait until that fades before we start the next fight." Tono grumbled in irritation, resignedly recalling his Pincurchin while mumbling an apology. "Bring your Pokemon here to heal."

Nori motioned to his Pokemon to do so. Spraying a Potion on the Pokemon picked her up, and made her mild injuries fade into nothing. Nori noted Eddie was giving the other two a scolding, before approaching him.

"Can see why they called it the Demon," he mused. Nori's Pokemon took this as a compliment, cackling. The young official in-training for his part just smiled. "But don't get your hopes up. Those two are nothing compared to me, let alone Kallisto."

"We'll see," was all he had to say.

\---

Several minutes later, the battle between Nori and Eddie was about to begin. The Gym Trainer's Pokemon was a hovering trio of gray spheres with screws through their center, magnets on each end, and single eyes in the middle.

The opening commands were made. "Magneton, Flash Cannon!"

"Cut, Nidorina."

Both of these attacks whiffed. The former Demon evaded a blast of white energy en route to her target, and the magnets just floated aside to make the slice miss. What it was not expecting was the follow-up that Nidorina did on her own, an effective one-two assault with a Shadow Claw coming second.

"Okay, again." Nori said.

"Iron Defense, Magneton!"

The other Pokemon was hovering, but only about a meter off the ground. Nidorina could still comfortably attack it. She whirled and struck with the ghostly swipe again. This time, the attack seemed to glance off as the other Pokemon momentarily glimmered. Was that like that Protect from before?

Before she could follow-up, Eddie gave his next command. "Float up and Tri-Attack!" Well, maybe it could fly after all. This could be annoying. Nidorina kept a watchful eye as the other Pokemon went overhead, energy in the primary colors forming on each of the bodies. Nori knew her patience as intending to dodge at the last second.

Yet she misjudged. The attack came from a very strange angle, just managing to catch her. Unlike the Pincurchin's attacks, this one clearly stung a bit. They weren't going to just roll this one over. That's just how she liked it, however.

Magneton came back down. "Now, Thunderbolt!"

"Move in." As if he had to say that, but he wanted to keep up some appearances that he wasn't letting her lead most of the time. The attack went wide as she started to close the distance.

Eddie was suspicious. "Whatever it's up to, dodge!"

What were they up to? Well it's Steel, so how about, "Double Kick."

Nidorina paused for just a second when she was nearly there, before jumping. Eddie cursed as the evasion completely failed, Nidorina following perfectly. In fact she jumped right over his Pokemon, kicking it twice as she passed by.

"You're annoying," Eddie growled. "So time to slow you down. Lock-On, Magneton."

The magnets beeped repeatedly, and its eyes started to track Nidorina. Was it focusing? Well, that meant it was open! "Nail it with a Skull Bash!" She nodded, lowering her head and building up speed. Even if it was resisted, that was her strongest attack. It'd still hurt!

Except it didn't. She hit with the attack, but all it did was make their foe flinch a bit and bounce it back. "Hahahahaha!" Eddie pointed tauntingly. "Zap Cannon!"

"Keep running, Nidorina!" He said this, but as the sphere of electricity was fired out, it followed her like a homing missile. His Pokemon roared as she was struck by this move. Electricity continued to spark around her after. Paralysis?!

Eddie put a hand on his hip, containing his laughter. "You're so friggin' stupid, don't you know anything? Lock-On makes the next attack home in on the target. Your Demon was not avoiding that one. And a stat boost has a stronger immediate effect, but it lasts as long as the Pokemon's out! That Skull Bash wasn't going to do jack!"

"Oh, shut up!" There was nothing Nori hated more than people making up an excuse to lecture him. "We haven't lost yet!" His Pokemon looked up, snorting in agreement.

"You will lose with this next move! Flash Cannon, Magneton!"

The other Pokemon started to brightly glow. Nori was concerned. Paralysis slows a Pokemon's movements and can occasionally cause them to seize up entirely. How much could the other Pokemon take? Could his Pokemon take this attack?

The beam was fired and he grinned. He didn't have to find that out, as she avoided it anyway! She was moving slower, but still reasonably quickly. "That's it. Now, Shadow Claw!"

Eddie shook his head. "In that case, Lock-On again Magneton." He stood with his arms crossed, as if confident his Pokemon could focus enough and take this blow. Instead, what happened was she sliced it right along two of its eyes. It almost fell out of the air, the third component straining to stop them from doing so. "A critical hit?" Eddie seethed. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"Crunch. Pull it down!" The Demon became infamous for a brutal fighting style. It was time to start tapping into it. The teal creature gnashed into the Magneton and threw it to the ground right next to one of the pillars. "Now unleash Double Kick!"

She kicked repeatedly, alternating legs. Because of where they were, the Magneton wasn't being knocked anywhere. It just kept getting hit by the repeated attack.

"Damn it!" Eddie clenched his fists and punched the air. "Thunderbolt to get it off you!"

The two Pokemon lit up as electricity coursed through them both. Nidorina hissed as the attack faded. The Double Kicks came out slower, but more forcefully. Until she paused, tensing up from the paralysis.

"Thunderbolt again!"

There was no response, and Nidorina resumed kicking the Pokemon again. Volkner spoke up, "Enough. This battle's over. Nori wins."

Nidorina kept attacking until Nori plainly said, "Stop." She did so, huffing as she regained her bearings. "You all right?" he asked his Pokemon. She nodded and stood tall, even as she winced from her stiff muscles. Good thing they had healing items on-hand.

Eddie grumbled. "Got too careless...stupid friggin' Demon." He recalled his Pokemon, but his earlier hostility did not fade in the slightest. In fact, it seemed it'd gotten worse. "You got lucky, kid."

Nori shrugged. He was just making excuses. "So is that it?" he asked. Three Gym Trainers, three victories.

Volkner eyed the door. "Probably." He turned his gaze away. At that moment, it opened.

"Sorry I'm late."

The Gym Leader shook his head. "Making an entrance as usual, I see."

A handsome young man with perfectly tanned skin stepped into the arena. He stood at well over 180cm, and was wearing a blue jumper with golden yellow arms and middle, matching warm pants, a white snow hat, and a long orange scarf. The coat was open; he was wearing a v-neck shirt beneath it. Nori could tell he was well-toned just from seeing that much. His hair reached to his shoulders, and was mostly dark orange save for the pink streaks at the tips. He blinked at Nori in confusion. One eye was blue, one eye was purple.

"Oh. Oh!" The realization struck him like a Thunder attack. "You're the one who got picked by the Officials for that new role. Nori Carino, right?"

"Mhm! That's me!" Hey, actual respect around here! He'd take it!

"Kallisto Keravnos." He walked over and stuck his hand out for Nori, a gesture the boy accepted. The Gym Trainer flashed a smile. "Looks like we'll be training together."

"Guess so." He kind of expected his own to overlap with the Gym Trainers. The others had come in for practice over the weekend. It only made sense that they'd be training too.

"Well, since you're here," Volkner said with exasperation, "Get ready."

"Sure, all right." Kallisto walked over to his place on the battlefield, taking off his jumper and handing it to Ollie. Nori and his Nidorina went to get the latter healed. The medicine took a couple minutes to take effect, but she was ready and raring to go after they did.

"Ready?" Volkner asked.

"Sure am." Kallisto took a black and green Poke Ball off his belt. He gave it a light kiss. "This stage is yours, Raitora."

Kallisto sent out a feline Pokemon. It had a round body with short, bulky legs. Mainly yellow, but its front was white and there were black stripes on its back, including its tail. A bolt pattern was etched on its belly. It had narrow black eyes and a button-like nose, round black ears, and a mouth any cat would be proud of.

"Okay, what is THAT?" Nori asked. That's two Pokemon he didn't recognize in one day.

The dark-skinned teen scoffed at him. "You really so dumb you don't recognize this?" Was he supposed to, Nori wondered?

"Relax, Eddie," Kallisto lightly scolded, holding up a hand. His fellow Gym Trainer huffed, but nodded. The fit teen turned to explain. "Raitora, evolved form of Kotora. It's uncommon. Japan-native, but it's not usually found in any of the four major regions. He's my best partner."

That made sense. So far in his school geography classes, he'd learned about Sinnoh, Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn. There was more to the country than just those, though. They'd learned about some common Pokemon in those regions, so no wonder he didn't know about this. It certainly did exist though, since it was here!

Volkner nodded. "All right. Last match. Begin."

Whatever it was, like before. Goal is the same. Win! "Head in with a Crunch, Nidorina."

"Match it with your own, Raitora!"

The two Pokemon barreled towards each other, each simultaneously biting into the other's side. Nidorina snarled and glared at her opponent, sinking her teeth further in. The Raitora didn't openly react to this, save for a smile. Five seconds later, he jerked his head and released. Nidorina was hurled away several meters, managing to roll to her feet.

"Follow through with a Noble Roar, my friend."

As the once-Demon was recovering, her opponent took a deep breath. As she was turning around, Raitora bellowed mightily at her. She cringed, shutting one eye as she braced herself against this. Even Nori had to wince. It was as though one Pokemon was attempting to assert dominance over the other.

This only seemed to anger the teal creature. The moment the roar stopped, she came rushing in ready to strike. Both of her claws became enveloped in dark energies. Nori nodded.

"Ice Fang!" Kallisto commanded. "Block those Shadow Claws!"

The feline Pokemon flashed its two cuspid teeth, which began to lightly fog the air around them from their coldness. Nidorina swiped once, and he twisted his face to guard against it perfectly. She came in from below with the second strike, but Raitora twisted again and blocked that too.

"Poison Jab," Nori said quickly, trying not to miss a beat. His Pokemon reacted just as fast, poking the other Pokemon in the gut before it could react. The tiger Pokemon took a step back, but Kallisto appeared ready.

"Confuse Ray, Raitora!"

Nidorina's ears twitched. She shut her eyes right as her opponent's eyes and the bolt on its belly began to gleam eerily. Whether that was on instinct or just hearing the attack called, she avoided that one.

"Now, Slam!"

Blindly, Nidorina lunged towards Raitora to deliver a headbutt. But the electric tiger jumped, swinging his tail out as he did so. The teal Pokemon was flipped back into a tumble.

This thing was strong! Powerful enough to match Nidorina in a contest of strength. Well if it was going to be that way, they could still use speed and try to overwhelm it.

"Circle around it!" Nori advised. "Go in for another Crunch!"

But Kallisto had other ideas. "Now, Raitora! Earthquake!"

The feline jumped up and down. Nori braced himself as soon as he heard the order, but his Pokemon couldn't do so or jump over it in time. She stumbled as the ground shook around her and the rest of the battlefield, getting tossed around like a ragdoll. The boy was surprised this was causing no damage to the arena or building.

Kallisto nodded. "Grass Knot next!"

Raitora stamped his front right foot as Nidorina was getting to her base. Vines and grass burst from the floor in front of her, ensnaring her in a tangled mess of plants. Irritated, Nidorina yanked and was able to free a front leg with a single pull, but the others proved more stubborn. They were already out of time.

The handsome teen held out his palm, fingers outstretched. "Okay Raitora, SWIFT BOLT!"

Was it going to charge in? "Batter up," Nori said, making a swinging motion with a clasped fist. "Shadow Claw."

His Pokemon nodded as she freed her other front leg, getting the attack ready. Sure enough, the Raitora cloaked himself in electricity and burst forward like a bolt of lightning. He left afterimages in his wake as he rushed towards the ready Nidorina.

She swung her claw out and connected dead on. But it didn't impede her opponent at all. She was run through, getting knocked back towards Nori. The once Demon struggled to get up, faltering. She shoved herself up with a paw up out of sheer defiance...before falling back down.

"Nidorina?"

She was barely conscious in that her eyes were open and still had that paw up, but her only movements were breathing.

"Kallisto wins."

The Demon was beaten? Just like it was nothing? They always beat whoever challenged them. They always won, even if they gave them a good fight. But they lost. More to the point, they lost so easily. He wasn't expecting their first loss to be this bad.

Kallisto stood neutrally, maybe a bit awkwardly. Volkner looked over to Nori. The sheer disappointment was written all over his face. The three others' mocking was merciless.

"Just like that! Suck it!" said Ollie, as if he was the one who won.

Tono agreed. "That's our Kallisto. Far better than you ever will be."

"What'd I tell you?" said Eddie. "You're nothing, kid."

Nori lowered his head. They didn't have to pile on like that. They gave Kallisto high fives while continuing to mock him, and even his Nidorina. His Pokemon grumbled. He could tell she wanted out of here just as much as him.

Without a word, he recalled her and walked out of the arena.

\---

Nori ignored the calling from below. All he wanted to do right now rest and think about this.

As he was heading to his room, he saw a small figure sitting next to his door. A squirrel Pokemon. Mostly white with a blue streak on its tail and ears, and yellow cheeks. Sinnoh's resident pika, a Pachirisu. It was about to bite into a berry. Nori recognized it as a Razz Berry, something he picked a lot of last year to help feed his Nidorina.

It tilted its head. As if sensing his mood, it stood up and ran over. It let out a small jolt of electricity, lightly frying the berry. It bit the yellow-orange fruit in half and offered one piece to Nori.

Strange. He squatted down and accepted, if only to be polite. He wasn't that hungry, but decided he should eat a bit anyway. He popped it into his mouth. Not bad. He gave a nod to the Pokemon before opening the door, heading in, and locking it behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: No, Raitora's not a fakemon (aside, hate that term. It sounds so dumb). It's one of the gen 2 beta Pokemon. I always wanted to use a couple of them, and Kallisto is the type of character who fit for doing so. Its moveset was inspired by similar Pokemon, save for its signature Swift Bolt, which is just electric Extremespeed.


	3. January of Meetings (second part)

¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 6th, 2015_

At school the next day, Nori was set upon by multiple groups at recess and lunch. All of them wanted to hang out or be friends with him. He was able to excuse himself by saying he was too worn out from battling. It wasn't untrue. A few of them expressed jealousy he even got a chance to have battles. The school had a strict no-Pokemon policy on school grounds. Between that and homework, those that owned Pokemon didn't have much chance to play and fight with them.

When he got back and heard the Gym Trainers' voices in the arena, Nori went straight to his room. He was still feeling down about yesterday. It wasn't losing that bothered Nori. He expected to at some point. It was how badly he lost that was getting to him.

The Demon had been called one of the strongest wild Pokemon ever seen. She'd taken on many high-leveled opponents by herself even before she met Nori, and only seemed to get better with him. They didn't do anything wrong or different this time. Yet they got stomped by Kallisto like it was nothing. Just when he was starting to enjoy battles a bit, he was dealt a harsh reminder of why he never liked them. It was part of why a journey was never appealing to him. You just couldn't stand up to people at that level, and there were too many waiting at the end.

Nori went over to his desk. He opened his textbook to try to get some math homework done. It went slowly. He was good at the subject, but there were too many thoughts in his mind to properly focus. It was almost a relief when there was a knock at his door.

"Hey." The boy cringed. It was _him_. "Mind if we talk a bit?"

Nori stood up. He considered this. Well, one good thing. He was in a way glad it was him and not anyone else. If he didn't answer this, someone else might come by. He reluctantly stood, unlocked the door, and opened it.

Kallisto stepped inside. He took a moment to appraise the room. "Nice setup you got here. Clean too," he said. After a moment's thought, he ruffled his hair awkwardly. "Sorry for yesterday. Volkner said we had to go all out, so that's what I did. No hard feelings?"

Nori sighed, nodding just enough to be perceptible. Yeah, he knew that. He shouldn't blame Kallisto for this, or let this get him down for too long.

"Most people go all out in battle, excepting cases like a Gym Leader adjusting their team for a newer trainer. Know you were giving it your best, too." He was. That's what made it so frustrating. He did his best, and it wasn't even close to enough. His Nidorina had taken on all manners of powerful Pokemon, but Kallisto and his Raitora were just too strong.

"Sometimes though?" The fit teen paused. "You just meet people who are better than you. More experience, more skill, sometimes even more luck." He twiddled his fingers. "Just means you need to train harder yourself, that's all."

Train harder. That's what he was here to learn about, how to train Pokemon. Was there some super secret technique Kallisto was using that he learned from the Gym Leader? No, no, he wouldn't have beaten the other three otherwise. To be stronger. To be able to battle well with all these Pokemon he would be helping.

The orange and pink haired teen extended his hand again. "You did good. Looking forward to battling you again sometime."

The boy reluctantly accepted the shake. But he had to ask. He figured he may as well. "How are you so strong?" It never hurt to ask something, as long as it wasn't a stupid question.

Kallisto shrugged. "I'm not that strong, really. Still got a ways to go and things to get better at. Not perfect at everything."

As if. Nori rolled his eyes at that non-answer. He beat the Demon. The Demon that beat everything else. He beat it like it was nothing, and he's saying he's not that strong? Yeah, right. He was just being stupidly modest.

"Anyway, spoke up for you, so you got the day off." 

"Really?" He needed that after yesterday. He was going to dig in his heels, but it was nice to know he wouldn't have to do that. "Um, thank you."

"Not a problem." Kallisto flashed a grin and thumbs up. He went to step out. "Me and the guys will be out in front of the Gym waiting for challengers. Eddie's trying to work on his skateboard stunts. Come by if you want to hang out, okay?"

"Sure," Nori said, though he had no intention of doing so. Not with those other three there...

##########

¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 11th, 2015_

The rest of the week passed by eventlessly at the Gym and at school. Nori welcomed that. School was just school, and what he had to do for training was nowhere near as stressful as having to fight four trainers in a row.

On Wednesday he had to do some physical stuff. Simple exercises and a lap around the arena. Being an outdoors person already, he did good there. Thursday was some written stuff, mostly about Pokemon, geography, and history. Some of it was basic material even a six-year-old would know, other questions were way above his grade level. He knew some of it from his own research when working the the Demon or hearing it on the news, and he just guessed with the others. He had no clue how he did. Friday was sparring using the Gym Pokemon. He didn't know what he was doing, but won over half of them. This included one battle where he used that Pachirisu, who was very eager to get into it. They even managed to defeat the Luxio they were up against.

Half of Saturday was spent watching the Gym Trainers and Volkner face off against challengers. He'd done this a couple times on his own, but this was the first time he was explicitly told to do so. Five trainers stopped by that day. Two had to do the puzzle, and one was completely stumped by it. The time limit expired, and she was dismissed very rudely by Tono. Two came for battles with Gym Trainers. Ollie fought a young boy from Canalave City, but Kallisto stepped up to face a 20-year veteran who came over from Alola. The resulting 3-on-3 battle was nearly as one-sided as his own encounter against the head Gym Trainer. Finally, he watched Volkner battle a challenger from Batalson Island who'd beaten Eddie on Tuesday, defeating the leader in a narrow match and earning a Beacon Badge.

On Sunday, Nori was asked to come to the arena. He hadn't spoken to his mentor after that; Volkner had quickly returned to his private area of the Gym. He was almost always there when not tutoring him, facing a challenger, or out of the building altogether. Nori cheerfully told him, "Good battle the other day!"

Volkner went "hmm," at this. He was holding a remote with a knob and three buttons.

Nori tilted his head. "Was it not good to you?"

"No, it was. Just don't get enough of those." His lack of enthusiasm ran counter to his words.

The Gym closed early on Saturdays and Sundays. Even Gym Leaders needed time off, and to be able to do maintenance that couldn't be done overnight. Of course, there was no day off for Volkner today. In fact, it looked like he - or more likely, the Gym Trainers - had been busy. Scattered all over the arena were a number of oversized dartboards with lights above them. Some of these were stationary, some looked like they could move.

"So what's this?"

"Target test."

"I mean, I guessed that." Why would there be targets scattered around Gym if not to hit them? "But what do I have to do?"

"Get out your Pokemon."

"Okay." He brought out his Nidorina. She looked around, just as confused as he was. She eyed him, and he shrugged to express his own uncertainty.

"The targets will light up. Hit them before they turn off."

"You get that?" he asked. She nodded and grumbled. The former Demon loved to fight, to the point of being labeled a violent psychopath by some. She went all-out in every fight without exception. Asinine things like this always annoyed her, though she'd come a long way of not even wanting to bother with them at all. "Yeah, I know. Don't get it either,"

He glanced up, seeing that the Pachirisu, an Elekid, and a couple Magnemites were watching from one balcony. Eddie and Kallisto were watching from another. Nori never minded performing in front of others.

"Well, if you're ready. Go." Volkner pushed a button on the remote.

A simple, stationary target on the far side. The light over it was green. "Okay, get it." Nori ordered for posterity, although his Pokemon was on the way already. She gave it no quarter, hitting it with a vicious Shadow Claw as she got near. Nori was impressed the thing held together. Pokemon training tools were made of sturdy stuff.

Two more lit up in its place. Nidorina hit the first before Nori even spotted it. The second was on a pillar, very low. The teal Pokemon slid towards it as she got near, nailing it with a kick.

"There's three," he said. pointing to them all. Two moving horizontally and an elevated third. His Pokemon set off towards them. The first she hit while running beside it. From there she darted towards the second. The third was positioned a ways behind the device the target was sliding on. Instead of going around, she jumped through, hitting the target on the way and continuing without pause or switching direction. She leaped and hit the third.

"Another three!" Way more spread out! The teal Pokemon was on them right away. She hustled over to the nearest one, slashed it, and continued towards the vertically moving second. It was at its apex when she got close, forcing her to do another high jump to hit it.

As she was halfway to the last one, an irritating buzzing noise reverberated through the loudspeakers. The lights over all the targets went red, and all the moving ones stopped. What happened?!

"Time's up," Volkner said.

Nori shook his head at himself. "Gotta warm up first." They needed to get used to this.

Volkner pressed another button on the remote. "Reset and try again."

=====

On their eighth attempt at it, they finally appeared to find their grove. Nidorina was zipping around taking out targets at a maddening pace. It was not just raw speed, but maneuverability in being able to turn on a dime. Tono and Ollie had joined the others on the balcony. Nori could overhear some of their impressed murmurs.

As they finished the eighth wave, his Nidorina instantly spotted the first (and only) one of the ninth. A single target sliding vertically half the battlefield away. With no hesitation, she ran towards it and did a mighty backflip, barely catching it with a nail on her back leg. They'd learned just contact was enough, no need to strike it hard.

"Three of them!" Nori pointed. All clustered together, one moving. His Pokemon noticed and rushed towards them. She punched one close to ground level as she was going by, jumped to slash at the moving one, slashed at another he hadn't seen on the opposite side of a pillar, and rammed her head into the final one.

Immediately after she had done this, more lit up. "Three more!" Nori yelled. "All over the place!" Two were on opposite sides, and the third was way off to the side.

By now, his Pokemon was beginning to strain and pant heavily. They'd had breaks in-between, but fatigue still built up. The side one was the closest, so she got that first. She was just about to reach the second one when all the lights buzzed and lit up red.

Volkner said the obvious. "Another failure."

"Well what can I say?!" Nori snapped. His Pokemon collapsed to catch her breath, too tired to be angry herself. "We were hitting them as fast as we could! And Nidorina doesn't know any ranged attacks!" With how short that time limit was, that was the only way they could've hit them all! Nidorina used to know Poison Sting, but it fell into disuse due to being weak. It was often easier and more effective to just close the distance on any ranged attacker.

"Excuses," Volkner replied. "This can be balanced for that."

"Just how fast were you expecting her to be?!" She didn't slow down at all, and she was a very quick Pokemon!

The Leader grumbled and waved him off. "Forget it. We'll try again in a few days. Think about why you failed here." Before he could say anything else, the Gym Leader stormed away shaking his head and muttering to himself.

Nori stamped a foot. How was he supposed to figure this out?! This was stupid! And he was supposed to do it again? From the sounds of it even if he did teach Nidorina a ranged attack somehow, it'd just be adjusted to be just as hard. Was there something to this? Was he just dumb and not getting it? Or was this just impossible? The boy growled. This was frustrating and made worse by that vagueness!

"Come on," he swiftly marched over to his Pokemon, helping her off the ground. She blinked, looking up at him in surprise. She snickered in approval, seemingly amused at his anger. "Let's take a rest and get some food."

##########

¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 12th, 2015_

Needless to say, Nori had trouble focusing at school the next day. He'd always been good at learning things and getting good grades, though he was never considered a nerd. This was the first time he was doing bad at something. What if that continued? What if it bled into his schoolwork? What if next year, or even this year, he started doing bad on all his classes? The Officials wouldn't have a place in them for a stupid moron.

Nori liked to eat lunch outside if it wasn't too cold. Today was chilly, but by no means unbearable for a native Sinnohite. He was sitting against the building overlooking the sports field, away from the snow. The Gym had meals in the lounge, and Volkner had been allowing him to have a sandwich and drink from there, and a snack from the concession stand each day. This was alien, and he still couldn't quite believe it. His school ‘lunches’ for the past three years, if anything at all, was just a fruit or granola bar. A girl he knew used to share her lunches with him, when they were still friends. He was popular enough that others would occasionally do the same, but never counted on that.

Nori closed his eyes. He didn't want to think about her. He looked up and found he wouldn't have to. Spike was approaching him. Nori found out he was in the same class too; that empty seat he saw on his first day belonged to the tall boy with spiky brown hair. Today he was in a brown leather jacket and jeans. "Sup, Nori!" he greeted, his uptown Solaceon accent coming through. "Wanna play monkey in the middle?"

This was the first time he was being directly invited to an activity. The other kids had been giving him his space up until this point, for better or worse. It wasn't the most principled thing, but he didn't want to come across as a square or a loner. "All right," he conceded. He couldn't use the excuse of eating since he was almost done. He popped the last bite of his chocolate bar into his mouth, stuffed the trash in his lunch bag, put that into his backpack, and followed.

"So who's the monkey?" he asked. A nasty thought occurred, and he threateningly fired back, "Better not be me."

"Nah," the other boy shook his head. "It's that crybaby, Lux."

As they went out into the snow-covered field, Nori spotted a mixed gender group surrounding a boy. They tauntingly chanted in a surprisingly coordinated fashion.

"Monkey in the middle! Monkey in the middle!"

He recognized the nominal monkey at once. It was his next seat neighbor. The boy with messy purple hair didn't even have his sweater on. He was desperately trying to keep warm with one arm while trying to grab the thing they were throwing - a plush Buneary - with the other.

"Stop it! Give it back!" Lux cried. He tried to lunge for the doll, only to slip and fall before he even got off the ground. Nori winced as the others burst into laughter.

He reluctantly took a spot around the circle. For now. "Why do this, anyway?" Nori asked. Lux stood and stumbled towards the girl who had it. She held it over his head and threw it to someone else when he tried to jump.

Spike grinned. "Cuz' he's a girly crybaby, and it's fun to see him cry!"

Conveniently, the plush reached his hands at that point. "No, it's not!"

This was going way too far in the first place, and if that was their only reason, that just made them stupid pathetic bullies. He marched up to the purple-haired boy and thrust the plush into his hands.

"Go, quick," he urged. When Lux did not move, he pushed him. "Now!"

To Nori's relief, he took the hint and ran off. Some people tried to grab him, but most were too stunned or fixated on him to do anything. None chased after Lux. Nori glared around the circle, his gaze coming to rest on the flabbergasted Spike. The brown-haired boy strutted up, regaining his bearings along the way.

"Hey, what'd you do that for?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Look, I'm fine with a bit of teasing, especially if someone deserves it." He didn't mind seeing a self-superior egoist get theirs. "But this is too much for too little." What did Lux ever do, besides being easy to get a reaction out of?

Spike pfted, shaking his head with disappointment. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Thought you were cool. Wasn't expectin' you to be such a softy that you'd stand up for a pansy like that."

Nori smirked and took a step forward. "I stood up for the Demon against the cops," he boasted. "Think I won't stand up to you?"

Several kids went ‘Ooo’ at this. Spike's jaw nearly dropped. He narrowed his eyes. "You threatenin' me?"

"What if I am?"

Spike replied by lightly shoving him. Nori shoved back with all his might. The larger boy went stumbling back. He scowled and gritted his teeth as he regained his footing.

"You asked for it, softy!"

In a flash, Nori bent over, grabbed some snow, and flung it into the bully's face as he was approaching. Spike blindly stumbled towards him. Nori grabbed onto his jacket and landed a punch square in the eye. The taller boy grabbed his coat and landed a punch on his cheek. The other kids erupted into cheers, some supporting him and some supporting Spike.

They traded blows for five seconds until Spike tried to take command. Still holding on, he attempt to pull Nori down with sheer strength. Nori kept his balance and swung a leg out. Spike was not expecting this and tumbled down facefirst. Nori reacted quickly, delivering a kick to the ribs. He squatted down and shoved Spike's face further into the snow.

"Teacher!" came a shout. Nori looked up briefly, and sure enough.

"Lux must've told on us! Run!"

Whether that was true or not didn't matter. Nori didn't have to be told twice to take off running.

##########

¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 16th, 2015_

Nori escaped any trouble from that incident. He was concerned that Volkner was going to get a call, or a teacher was going to pull him aside one day. But when the rest of the week passed without incident, he felt in the clear.

That was just from the faculty, though. His classmates started being more wary around him. As if he was going to explode on them for any little thing. He could only sigh to himself at that. Right back to usual so quickly. Popular as he was back at his old school, he didn't have a lot of real friends. There was the younger Maylene. Before he met her, there was a girl his age he was really close with. One day in fourth grade, she asked him to join her on a journey. He was stupid and said some harsh things, and that was all it took to destroy that friendship.

Stuff at the Gym had been going smoothly, aside from three more failed attempts at the target test. Besides that, it was basic things with no serious battles. But there was something he had been meaning to do at school for a while. He resolved to do it today as the final bell rang, following behind a person he wanted to have words with as they were hurriedly leaving as always.

"Hey."

Lux turned around, dropping his bag in a panic. "Y-Yes? What?"

"You really snitch on Monday?" he firmly asked.

"No!" Lux snatched up his bag and held it in front of him as if it were a shield. "I just ran back to class. A teacher might've saw me and put it together, but I didn't tell."

Good enough for Nori. "Okay," he nodded. "But you do know what they say, right?"

Lux quietly nodded. "Snitches get stitches. Spike made me learn that..."

"All right." That was just a rule around the playground. Nobody likes a tattletale. Nori found they're often kids who consider themselves better than everyone else, anyway. Plus it made sense. Why expose someone for the sake of it? That's just being a stupid jerk. If Lux really did do that...well, regularly, Nori would get why he was being bullied. As far as he could tell though, that was a one-time excuse at best.

"Um." Lux looked away sheepishly. He started shuffling his feet. "Thanks, by the way. Sorry for not saying sooner."

He smiled. "Happy to help."

"I heard you fought Spike." The purple-haired boy sighed. "You must be tough..."

"I learned a few things from an old neighbor back in Veilstone." Raymond Pulsar, a former member of the Maritime Self-Defense Force. A funny old guy who had lots of stories to tell. "Plus I, uh," Nori rubbed the nape of his neck. "I have been in some schoolyard fights before." He wasn't exactly proud of that. It was part of why he didn't have so many real friends, people found him hard to approach. The boy hoped he wouldn't end up reestablishing that reputation here.

Lux seemed to laugh a bit at that, though it could as well been a nondescript vocalization. The two were quiet for a moment.

"Well...bye." The purple-haired boy abruptly hurried off.

Nori blinked. Was it something he said or did? Well, no matter. He could always ask next time, if he was curious. He started out himself.

##########

¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 17th, 2015_

On Saturday, the target test was set up again. They had been periodically trying throughout the week. Nori and Nidorina attempted to clear it once more today, with no success. They got to the eleventh wave on the sixth attempt only to lose milliseconds before Nidorina hit the last target. From Volkner's expression, it seemed they were still a ways from the end at that. The seventh was an early failure on the fifth wave.

Their conversation had been at a minimum, but Volkner was always sure to say that word after a loss. "You've failed again."

Nori sighed. He was more defeated than angry at this point. This was their fifth go at this, and they were making no headway. "You don't need to rub it in."

"You shouldn't accept it, either."

"I'm not accepting this!" he protested, throwing his arms back. "It's just...I'm trying as best I can!"

"If you're failing these tests, you're not trying hard enough."

"What do I need to improve on?"

"We've been at this for a couple weeks and you don't know that?"

"What?"

Volkner started to walk away. "Maybe you aren't cut out for this after all..."

Nori grabbed him by the jacket to prevent this. "I am!" He punctuated with a stomp. "I want this! So I'm not giving up! I'll do it as many times as it takes!"

His Pokemon snorted in agreement. The boy swore he saw a fleeting smirk on the Gym Leader's face. "A good answer. I take back what I said, then."

"I...I see." Okay, he wasn't expecting that to actually work. "But can you answer my question? What wasn't I doing right?"

Volkner eyed him. "That's something to figure out for yourself." Great, he was still being vague. He couldn't fix the problem if he didn't know what the problem was. What angle was the blond man taking with this training?

There was a light crash. Both turned to see that Nidorina had physically shoved one of the targets over. "Looks like your Pokemon's done. We'll try again next week." The Gym Leader started to leave. Nori recalled his Pokemon before she could vandalize things any further.

"Idiot."

Nori turned to see the Gym Trainers approaching, wishing at that moment he had kept his Pokemon out. They were being led by Tono, who was the one who had delivered the insult.

"I beat that test on my very first attempt," he bragged. He turned to the others and let out a haughty huff. "Faster than any of the others, in fact."

"That's cause you're a nerd, Tono," Eddie snipped. "You're good when it comes to this stuff. You're lacking in other areas, though." He chuckled mockingly, causing his comrade to push his glasses up in annoyance. The dark-skinned teen shrugged. "But yeah, he's right. This is pretty bad, kid."

"Took me only four tries," Ollie bragged. "Same as Eddie."

"Yeah fatty, but part you're left out is you blundered into it on your eighth attempt, and I got it second go then."

"Hey! At least I understood and got it!"

A shrug. "Yeah, true. He's too slow to even know."

"Guys, cut him a break," Kallisto sharply cut in. Ollie and Tono backed right off. Eddie glared back at the fit teen, but nodded in acceptance. "We all learn at different paces. There's been a few things it took even me a while to learn."

"And what attempt did you get it on?" Nori cynically asked.

"Second try, second attempt." he shook his head. "Told you, I'm not perfect at everything."

Nori again rolled his eyes. Second isn't that much worse than first. "And lemme guess: you guys won't help, or will just be stupidly vague too?"

The others snickered and laughed. Nori for a moment regretted asking that, even if this was the exact response he expected. To his shock, Kallisto smiled. "Actually, sure," he said. "I'll let you know the trick." The others opened their mouths in protest, but he kept talking over them. "The targets speed up as you go faster. You need to pace yourself. Go too fast and they'll get too fast."

"Kallisto!" a shocked Eddie yelled.

Tono and Ollie were similarly aghast. "Why would you ever tell someone like him that?!"  
the former asked.

To this, Kallisto turned to them and explained his reasoning casually. "Don't forget, we're all training together here. There's no reason not to give him some help if he wants it." He shrugged. "Or needs it. You're supposed to figure that out as your Pokemon gets tired and slows down. But well." He looked back at Nori with a chuckle. "Your Pokemon only has one speed."

Slow down? How was he ever supposed to figure that out?! And how much sense did it make? He got by most Pokemon battles by attacking and attacking and never letting up. It made sense, people just couldn't keep up and counter. And it's not like he was mindlessly going all out, either - he'd wait for openings. Was this some obtuse lesson? What did this ever have to do with battling or training or anything?

"You're very lucky Kallisto took pity on you, kid," the dark-skinned teen barked. "Better thank him for this."

"Yeah, trailer boy! Thank him!" Ollie said.

"I was going to," Nori snapped. He knew his manners. What did being from a poor upbringing have to do with anything here? "So thanks, Kallisto." 

Kallisto nodded. "Not a problem. Figure out a strategy and keep at it. You'll get it eventually."

Yeah, he just had to keep trying. Still, with how the lights could be random, that could be hard to prepare for. Even thinking on his feet, there'd be situations like when they were all way across the room from each other where it'd just be impossible.

"Anyway, looks like you're off for now. Want to hang out in the lounge with us?" Kallisto invited. "We're about to watch a movie."

"No, I think..." Nori paused. He pressed a hand to his head. "I want to think about this some more."

Eddie gave him a funny look. "Suit yourself." He had derision in his tone, but ultimately didn't seem to care one way or another.

Kallisto nodded. "Just remember, it's good to take breaks from time to time. Push yourself too hard, and you'll just burn out." With this, the quartet left the arena.

He knew that much. Still, this wasn't the time to take a break. With a sigh, Nori sat on the bleachers to consider this some more. This was all just too much.

From first grade until fourth, Nori had a dear friend named Claris Willins. She was a child actress, yet chose to be friends with him despite being a poor boy from the trailer park.

She once mentioned that her schedule gave her no time for herself. That was why she wanted to get away from everything for a while. That's why she wanted to go on a journey. Go to school to work. Come back. Work some more. Only get to relax at night. Was this what she was going through?


	4. January of Meetings, third part

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¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 19th, 2015_

Nori never minded going to school; he felt it was the opportunity to learn for his future. Despite now being set to become a Pokemon Rehabilitator, he found himself looking forward to school more often. It was the only chance he had to get away from the training at the Gym. He thought he was going to enjoy learning to become an official, yet it was nothing short of frustrating. He could only relax in the evenings, and by then he was often too tired to do anything. The parallels to what Claris said she went through were not lost on him.

Yet school was nothing he hadn't seen before. After what happened the other day, he was sure he wasn't going to get trouble from anyone. Plus he could relax at recess and lunch.

He found himself lost in thought during the afternoon, particularly when the teacher briefly left. What was he going to do when he got back to the Gym? It probably wouldn't be the target test, as that was a weekend thing. So what would Volkner - or the Gym Trainers - have in store for him today?

"Okay, class." He was brought out of it by Mrs. DeWood reentering the room. Nori so far considered her a decent teacher, besides being too distracted to pay attention to students who needed help. The blonde woman was wheeling a cart into the room. "We're going to be doing something a little different in Science period."

Different? That sounded great to Nori. He hated monotony. He was the type of person who'd try something different just for the sake of it.

"Today, we're going to be dissecting flowers." She picked up a bag from the lower shelf of the cart and placed it on her desk. It was stuffed with all sorts of colorful plants that Nori couldn't identify. Atop were several containers. "You'll need to separate and identify each part of it correctly."

This was very different. They'd been learning about cells, with a bit of Pokemon biology stuff mixed in. Plants had been touched on, but barely. Did something happen that necessitated a lesson change, or was this leading into something?

"We only have enough for half the class, so you'll be working in pairs. If you're in an odd column, partner up with the person to your right. If you're even, to your left."

Guess that meant he'd be pairing up with Lux. He looked over, smiling and nodding at the other boy. A cacophonous symphony rang out as desks scraped along the floor. Most met in the middle, although Nori had to move his all the way over.

The teacher continued to give instructions, almost shouting over the noise. "There's scalpels, tweezers, and containers up here. Work in those so you don't make a mess. Make sure to label everything."

As their desks met, Nori motioned to Lux. "Let's go get our things," he said. The purple-haired boy didn't answer, just anxiously staring at the cart. "Um?" With a shrug, Nori went to get it all himself.

The containers were clear plastic boxes around ten centimeters deep. Each had a paper towel and a sheet of unlined paper in them. The tools were held within individual cup holders. He grasped one of each between his fingers, grabbed a pink flower which he placed in the container, and took it back to their desks. He put the tools to the side and the rest in the center.

As the chairs were attached to the desks, Nori squeezed in on the right. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his legs out as he made it into the seat. This was actually convenient he thought. It would be a good chance to talk about what happened.

"So hey, why'd you run off the other day?" he asked.

The other boy again didn't reply. Nori continued to look at him inquisitively. After several seconds, he relented with a sigh. "I didn't want to take any more of your time."

"I mean you really weren't. I wasn't in a hurry or anything." If anything, it was time he didn't have to spend at the Gym. "I don't mind talking."

Lux hummed. It was more of a groan.

"Anyway, we should get started here." Nori looked in the container. Some sort of rose? Maybe? "Ugh, I don't even know where to begin with this," he admitted. He knew as much about flowers as he did about tax stuff. "I guess we should look in our textbook."

He retrieved the turquoise book from inside his desk. It was awkward to have the book open with the container in the way. "Mind having this on your desk so the book can be on mine?" The faintest of nods. Nori scooted the container over and flipped through to where they had left off. Sure enough, he found it a few pages later. The anatomy of a flower. The diagram wasn't showing the same type of plant, but it was close enough.

"Okay." He rotated the textbook vertically and brought the container back near the middle. Nori scrutinized the flower with uncertainty. With a shaky hand he reached out and picked it up with the paper towel. "I guess one to hold it steady, the other to take it apart. You want to do the dissecting? Or should we trade off?"

"Just stop, okay? Please."

Lux pushed the container towards him, knocking the textbook off the desk. Nori nearly dropped the flower trying to fruitlessly catch it.

"I know you're only doing this because the teacher made you. I always get left out of these things unless the teacher makes someone." The other boy turned away, refusing to face Nori. "So you don't have to pretend you like this."

"Jeez, what's your problem?" the chestnut-haired boy snapped. He couldn't help it. He put the flower in the container and tried to speak with less anger. "Of course I don't mind this."

"You're just saying that."

"No. I'm not," he insisted. "Why would I?"

"Because you're a cool kid and I'm not. You're the Demon Tamer, and I'm nobody."

"So?" Nori craned his head with a smirk. When his humorous irreverence didn't take, he spoke more earnestly. "Lux, look. I know you're really unpopular for whatever reason."

The purple-haired boy buried his face into the desk. "Because I'm short, quiet, girly-looking, cry a lot, and because Spike's a cool kid and he says so."

Nori blinked. "Okay." He was not expecting a self-conscious outburst. "But that doesn't bug me. Height doesn't matter and you'll grow taller, there's nothing wrong with being quiet, or being girly. Crying..." That was touchy. It really depends on how often he cried. "Well, it's okay to cry sometimes. And what about Spike? Screw him."

Nori deliberately said that last part louder and looked out to see the reaction. The tall boy glared, but didn't otherwise respond.

He picked the fallen textbook up. "So come on. If nothing else, let's stop making a scene and get to work." It wasn't lost on Nori that the little spat they were having over nothing had drawn like half the class' attention. He tried to inject some enthusiasm, "Nothing to do but do it. All right?"

Lux exhaled, slowly looking up. Nori watched carefully to see his expression. His partner wasn't smiling, yet he wasn't frowning either. He counted that as a victory. And come to think of it, his face was kind of feminine. Part of it was his hairstyle, too.

"...okay," the purple-haired boy eventually conceded. Nori himself breathed a small sigh of relief. He was worried there, and not just at the prospect of doing everything himself. Lux leaned over and pulled the container closer. On seeing the flower, Lux faintly smiled. "I'll dissect if you want."

"Sounds good," Nori agreed. "Don't really trust myself. But let me know if you want to switch, okay?"

That settled that. They set to work as if the incident between them hadn't even happened.

##########

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¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 20th, 2015_

"Did you really mean all that yesterday?"

As lunch hour rolled around on Tuesday, Nori found Lux calling out to him before he could leave. He didn't want to rush, so half of the class had already left by the time he was ready to. The purple-haired boy remained seated in his desk the whole time. Nori almost didn't catch his words; he spoke up as Nori had nearly made it out the door.

He returned and stood next to his next seat neighbor. "Of course I did," Nori said after a few seconds. "I mean what I say and say what I mean."

Lux sighed and stood to his feet. He gazed out the window, looking at nothing in particular. "A lot of people hate me, you know..."

"Well, I think you're all right." He was good-mannered. So far, Lux had been one of the few people who'd treated him like a person and not as a big celebrity or something. That in itself was a big plus. Come to think of it, he could be a good friend. He threw that notion out there without hesitation. "I actually wouldn't mind being friends with you, you know."

The other boy frowned. "Really?"

"Lux..." He really didn't believe him. Was he so beaten down by bullying that he didn't believe anyone could actually like him? What should he say about this? No, better keep it simple and to the point. A simple and sharp, "Yes."

The purple-haired boy continued to wear a worried, skeptical look. Nori reached out and patted his shoulder. "I mean it."

Lux sniveled. He snapped forth, latching onto Nori. "Thank you..." he squeaked, burying his head in Nori's shoulders and sobbing lightly.

Nori, while surprised, returned the gesture with one hand and patted his friend's head with the other. "It's okay," he said comfortingly. Nori looked around. Everyone else had left the classroom, even the teacher. Good thing nobody saw them hugging. But he wouldn't care if anyone did. Well, okay. Maybe a little.

"So," Nori said, breaking it off. Better stop now because of it. "Wanna eat lunch together?"

"S-sure, okay!" Lux replied with a delighted grin. "I know this good, quiet spot, too." Nori could see there was still disbelief on his face, but it was more positive. As if he never thought it could happen.

As the two new-found friends set out, a thought occurred to Nori. This was actually very close to how he met Maylene. He saw her being bullied, pushed those bullies around, and that's how they became friends. Funny, making another friend the same way.

=====

Nori had a bounce in his step as he returned to the Gym after school. He would've walked home with Lux, if not for his friend's mother picking him up from school. His home was evidently within walking distance given how they first met, so doing that in the future or even walking to school together wasn't out of the question.

As he returned, the boy noted the unusual number of vehicles in the parking lot. Usually at after-school hours, there would only be Kallisto's white convertible, the various vehicles of the Gym's staff, and a few more depending on if there were challengers or people who came to watch Gym battles. Today, it was packed full. There were even cars parked along the roads. He'd seen this at the Veilstone Gym, but never here.

Nori entered to find a large gathering in the lobby. He navigated his way through to the staff corridor, which was blocked off with a chain. He hopped over it and made his way to the stairwells where he found the Gym Trainers chatting, all smiles.

"Hey guys!" he greeted. His curiosity about what was going on didn't affect his cheerful mood at all, and it came through in his tone.

Eddie turned, sneering at him. "What're you so happy about, kid?

He did a spin. "I made a friend at school today!"

"Ha!" Ollie snorted. "Took you this long to meet someone at school? You some anti-social dweeb?"

"I mean, a real friend," he clarified. "I've met people, just haven't made friends with any until now."

"Ass-kissers?" asked Eddie.

"None of those yet." Thankfully. Eddie nodded. There had been plenty of people trying to get in his good graces back home, even if they'd previously been jerks or indifferent to him. It was all Nori could do to try to be polite, but he couldn't help but call some of them out.

But putting that aside. He addressed the quartet. "Anyway, you guys seem happy yourselves!" Even Eddie only seemed annoyed at him for a moment. There was something in the air. "Does it have something to do with why there's so many people here?"

Kallisto put it simply. "It's exhibition day."

"What's that?"

Tono glared at him. "Really?" he asked, deadpan. "You do not know about the Sunyshore Gym's exhibitions?"

Ordinarily Nori might have snapped at that insult, but he was feeling too good to care about it. "Nope! What's it all about?"

The head Gym Trainer explained. "Every 20th of the month here, the Gym's open for anyone. You can challenge the Gym Trainers or Leader in unofficial battles. We battle each other sometimes too. You know, putting on shows for the crowd. The floor's open for anyone who wants to have it out in front of spectators, too. We even get out-of-towners who drop by for this."

That explained things! Trainers could be crazy about loving to battle. Sometimes they'd fight each other for the fun of it, nothing on the line but the chance to hold victory over another.

"We got the day off from school for this!" Ollie boasted with a laugh.

"Cool!"

"H-hey!" the pudgy teenager stammered. "You're supposed to be jealous, stupid!"

He got that was the intent, but he didn't really feel jealous. In fact, he felt glad for them, if getting a day off school's what they liked. "So, where's Volkner? Is there going to be any training today?"

Tono pointed at the door. "He is in there supervising."

"Oh, that's right," Kallisto spoke up. "Volkner said to tell you that you don't need to participate if you don't want to, barring anyone challenging you. But he did say you have to watch."

Eddie chuckled. "Who knows? Maybe you'll learn a thing or two."

Nori allowed the insult to bounce right off. "Maybe I will."

"You shall," said Tono, "If you pay attention to Kallisto's upcoming battle."

\---

After putting his backpack in his room, Nori decided to head to the balconies to watch the battles. He wanted to get a feel for what this exhibition day was like before jumping into it himself. And he knew full well if he was down there in the crowd, he'd get all kinds of challenges from people wanting to test their mettle against the infamous Demon of Veilstone. It was a common occurrence back home; some people even came knocking on his trailer looking to battle. At least his mom was good at turning them away if he wasn't interested.

Nori stood with the Pachirisu from earlier and an Elekid, as two Magnemites floated on either side of him. He had made it just in time to see Volkner walking to the center of the battlefield. "This will be a three-on-three battle," the Gym Leader said. "Select your Pokemon in advance. No switching. The first Pokemon will be sent out double blind."

The opposing trainer - one Yuuta Johnston - looked to be around Kallisto's age. Apparently, he was a challenger looking for some informal payback. He had wild green hair, being dressed in jeans as well as a white and blue sweatshirt. He chose his three Pokemon with no hesitation. Kallisto took longer to decide, around half a minute. He picked one immediately - probably his Raitora, Nori figured - and another shortly thereafter. He mused three different Pokemon for his last slot, before making a decision.

"All set?" asked Volkner. When he got nods from both of them, he stepped back. "Then start."

"Spaghetti, go!"

"Oricorio, the stage is yours."

Both trainers threw out their first Pokemon. Nori recognized Kallisto's Pokemon right away. He hadn't seen the elegant bird colored red before, but it came as no surprise given he'd seen it in two other colors before. The other was a walking, writhing mass of blue vines. Two of them were longer and thinner with red tips. Two beady eyes peered out from the darkness within.

"Hey!" Yuuta complained. "You changed it! That's not an Electric type!"

"I don't have to strictly use Electric Pokemon," Kallisto calmly said. "I hope you didn't select your team based off that assumption." From how the other trainer slightly hunched over, clenched his fists, and scowled, Nori figured he did. It was true, though. Actually, as far as he knew, the only person in the Gym to only have Electric types was Ollie.

Kallisto turned to the intrigued crowd. "Oricorio is a Pokemon found primarily in the Alola region." He would occasionally interact with the audience like this when obscure things came up in battle. "Depending on the nectar it consumes, its type and the type of its Revelation Dance move will be different." Kallisto had told Nori that this made the dancing bird a useful asset to his team. When he was forced to go monotype it would be another Electric type, and also a Flying type at that. But it could otherwise be Psychic, Fire, or Ghost depending on his needs. "Also–"

"Would you hurry up and get going?" Volkner asked.

Kallisto snapped to attention. "Sorry."

"That's fine!" Yuuta said. With a furious point, he wasted no time in launching the first attack. "This actually makes things easier! Spaghetti, Ancient Power!"

Mysterious rocks and stones with patterns rose out of nowhere around the Tangrowth. It launched them towards Oricorio, which proceeded to evade them with two simple hops to the right.

The head Gym Trainer nodded his approval. "Good dodge. Now give him an Air Slash!" The bird swung out its wings twice, sending out two blades of visible air. One made clean contact, and the Tangrowth actually dodged into the second one.

Yuuta cringed, but he and his Pokemon were ultimately unabated. "Head towards it!" A second later he added, "And use Poison Jab!" To Nori's - and from the gasps, a good chunk of the crowd's - surprise, Spaghetti didn't lumber there. It shoved its vines into the ground and vaulted towards the dancing bird. 

If Kallisto was surprised by this, he didn't show it. "Incoming, Oricorio!"

The red bird scuttled away to avoid the body blow, but was in no position to avoid the follow-up. The mass of vines reached out and poked it with one of its long vines, the tip of which was glowing purple.

Kallisto nodded. "Mirror Move!" Oricorio chirped strangely, as if speaking some incantation. Abruptly, its wing tips began glowing purple. There was no doubt, Nori knew a Poison Jab when he saw it. It reached out and smacked the Tangrowth, which immediately started to recoil in pain. Oricorio looked back at its trainer, who motioned his approval to get some distance.

"Damn it! Are you okay, Spaghetti?" It shook itself, no, and shook again. The second was more of a shudder. "That poisoned, didn't it?!" Using a Pokemon's move against it? That was very different. Yuuta grit his teeth. "We're gonna get you for that!"

\---

The battle raged on. Kallisto's Oricorio had no trouble defeating the Tangrowth. The challenging trainer sent out a Sudowoodo next which actually managed to bring down the dancing bird. The faux tree would itself take one of Kallisto's Pokemon's moves and use it against him, in this case Icy Wind. Of all the things for the head Gym Trainer to send out next, Nori was not expecting a Ludicolo. It easily dispatched the Sudowoodo, leaving Yuuta's Gliscor to take on it and whatever Kallisto had left.

The battle had been surprisingly even so far. Both Pokemon were suffering from persistent damage: Ludicolo from poison off a tail strike, and the Gliscor from a Leech Seed. Rain had been summoned, thankfully localized over the battlefield. Sudowoodo had managed to land one Icy Wind before going down, and the flying scorpion with the speed advantage had evaded a couple of attempts at the same move from Ludicolo. It had taken a vicious Bubble Beam however, and despite landing a couple Wing Attacks and a Night Slash itself, Ludicolo still had fight left in it.

"Time to end this!" Yuuta declared with a growl. "Swords Dance!"

Kallisto nodded. "There's the opening. Energy Ball, Ludicolo!" As the flying purple Pokemon began to spin around while grinding its claws together, the...dancing yellow, frog thing formed a bright translucent green sphere between its hands. Kallisto's Pokemon threw it with precision, but...

"Too late! It's over!" The Gliscor finished executing the move and took off, just getting a glancing blow. Kallisto flinched at this turn of events, but took it in stride with a smile. His opponent mustered all of his bluster and pointed fiercely. "Scorpio, ACROBATICS!"

Scorpio started to zip all around its foe in a stunning display of aerial maneuverability. The head Gym Trainer closed his eyes and smiled. Nori at that moment knew it was indeed over, but couldn't tell how it was going to end.

Kallisto opened his eyes. "Now, Ludicolo! Turn around and Hydro Pump!"

Yuuta was struck dumb as his Pokemon was blown out of the sky by a massive torrent of water right before it hit. "Wha-!? How?"

Kallisto placed his hands behind his back. "Your Pokemon kept approaching from behind whenever she used that move or Wing Attack. She was being too predictable." Nori himself picked up on its consistent approach, yet not the implications. Now that Kallisto mentioned it, he slapped his head for not realizing sooner. You need to mix it up in a real fight, so it should apply to Pokemon too.

"It's...not over yet!" Yuuta insisted. He shakily pointed at his Pokemon rising in defiance. "We can still go on!" The purple-blue Pokemon was pulling herself up with her claws, using one of the pillars as leverage while keeping a watchful eye on her opponent. Indeed, it seemed Kallisto hadn't quite won yet.

That was, until the Leech Seeds sapped away at her, draining what little stamina she had left and causing her to collapse.

"Kallisto wins," Volkner stated with a plain gesture.

"And that," came a voice from behind Nori. "That is how intelligent people battle."

The Pokemon were more startled than Nori was at Tono's abrupt appearance. In particular, the Elekid and Pachirisu immediately went on guard, electricity crackling from them both before they saw who it was. "Uh, sure?" the boy said.

"Battles are about brains. Mindful strategy will always prevail over mindless strength."

To this, Nori could only lightly smile. "Well, I beat you with strength, didn't I?"

Tono scowled. "Don't get so cocky. Your Pokemon gave you the edge in battle, not your skills." His haughtiness returned as he chuckled to himself about something. "You are a fool if you think you can rely on that forever."

"And you're stupid if you think I don't know that! Besides, didn't your ‘mindful strategy’ backfire in our battle?" he snapped. The Gym Trainer cringed, not having a retort. "Strategy is important, I know that much! That's why I'm training here!" Right?

Tono inhaled and exhaled. "So long as you realize that much." At this, he left.

Nori shook his head. If this kept up, tomorrow couldn't come soon enough. Actually, it couldn't anyway. He couldn't wait to see Lux again.

##########

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¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 21st, 2015_

From that day on, Nori and Lux hung out all day at school. The latter liked to spend lunch hour near the kindergarten classrooms. As the youngest students only had half-days, it was quiet and empty save for the two of them and the odd student who passed through from the outside. They spent their breaks getting to know each other.

What Nori appreciated was that Lux was interested in hearing about the rest of his life, not just the Demon. He was happy that he found someone to be friends with who was kind and accepted him. Lux just seemed happy to have a friend.

"Can I ask you something, Nori?" Lux suddenly said at one point.

"Yes?"

The purple-haired boy pressed his index fingers together. "Why did you help me?"

There it was, the question he was surprised he hadn't been asked sooner. He put it simply. "I didn't want to do nothing. You were freezing, and they were being dumb." The boy shook his head. "They had no reason to do that, it was too much. I hate those kinds of bullies. They're the worst. Wasn't the first time I stood up to one of them."

Lux slowly nodded. "Were you..." He spoke up, hesitantly. "Bullied yourself?"

Nori blinked at the perceptiveness. "A little," he admitted. "Most stopped bugging me when I yelled or hit back. I'd even stop others' bullies sometimes. But there was this one rich kid, Tarou Daikoka. He hated me. Probably still does. Long story."

"No wonder you're so tough," Lux remarked. "You had to be."

"Guess that's one way of looking at it." He shrugged. He got in trouble sometimes for fighting back (or doing worse), but it was worth it. "Well, enough about me for now. How about you, Lux? What's your life like? And your family?"

The other boy nodded. "My mom's a civil engineer and my dad repairs vacuum cleaners. I'm just, well. Me. I don't think I'm very interesting."

"Heh. I'll be the judge of that," Nori declared, getting a small laugh from Lux. He patted his friend on the shoulder. "I think everyone's interesting, once you get to know them."

Lux smiled. "I guess."

##########

__

¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 22nd, 2015_

The conversation on Thursday was mainly about hobbies and interests. "So what do you like to do, Lux?"

The other boy quickly shook his head. "Nothing, really."

"Come on!" he encouraged. "You have to like something. What do you like?"

"Weekends."

"Who doesn't like those? What else?"

"Pokemon, I guess," he said more quietly. "And um..." Nori leaned in closer. "Promise not to laugh at this?"

"I won't."

Lux blurted it out quickly. "I like flowers."

"Really?" Nori had to swallow a chuckle at that. It was at the irony rather than making fun of him, but he said he wouldn't at all. "I bet Monday was actually really fun for you."

"Um, it was. But well, what do you like?" Lux waved it off and changed the subject.

"Oh." If he wanted to, he was fine with that. "Well, I like going outdoors and exploring! Haven't been able do that here, though. I like science, and I like helping people. Oh, and I also like listening to the radio."

Lux's eyes lit up, "Really?" he marveled. "I like the radio too. I really like the radio dramas."

Nori grinned. "Me too! They were all I had back in the trailer. I still do. Been following one called Crime by Starlight lately."

"That's my favorite!" Lux grinned back at him. "They really left off on a cliffhanger with Tybalt last time, didn't they?"

"Yup. Can't wait to see what happens next." Something decisively in common! They were going to have fun talking about this.

##########

__

¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 23rd, 2015_

On Friday, Nori decided to do something different. He invited Lux to come see the Gym with him after school. Lux accepted, telling his mom as she came to pick him up. She eyed Nori for the longest time, but reluctantly allowed it, saying she'd come get him at around 6pm.

As they got in the doors, Volkner was waiting just inside the lobby. The Gym Leader's eyes narrowed as they fell upon the purple-haired boy.

"Who's this?" he harshly asked.

"Lux. He's my friend." What, did he think he brought a criminal or a spy here? That's what it sounded like he thought.

"Why's he here?"

Nori's hands balled up. He exploded into a rant. "What, am I not allowed to spend time with my friends? Is there something wrong with showing a friend around the Gym? Is that not allowed, or is it something else? I have to start training when I get back from school every day! Everyone else–"

"Ugh, whatever." Volkner waved a hand repeatedly to dismiss them as he walked away. "Just don't make this a habit."

After he left, Lux turned to face Nori, mouth slightly open. All he could say was, "Wow." Both awe and awkwardness in his tone.

Nori rubbed his neck. "He's an okay teacher, but..." He huffed, considering this. It was good to get things off your chest. And he trusted Lux to listen. "...he can be frustrating at times." Truth be told, he wasn't expecting yelling to work. He was ready to storm off and figure out something else to do. But he wanted to hang out with Lux today, one way or another.

He thought. After a moment, he motioned to sit. May as well hang out in the lobby for now. It was empty aside from the staff. There were cushioned chairs, plus tables if they wanted to eat. Nori gave a wave to the receptionists and concessions clerk, who all returned the gesture.

"Have you ever been in a Gym before?" Nori asked.

Lux shook his head. "Not since I was six and watched my big brother here."

"You have a big brother?"

"He's ten years older. But he left four years ago to go journey in other regions." The purple-haired boy looked down. "He and my parents had a big fight before that. So I haven't heard from him since."

"That's part of why I don't like journeys. You have to leave all your friends and family behind. I couldn't do that." Nori closed his eyes. He abandoned Claris by not joining her on hers, but there were other reasons.

"I do miss him."

"I'd miss everyone too. Actually, no," he corrected. "I do miss everyone. Everyone back home...I still wonder how they're doing." He hadn't had the chance to write any of them. How was Maylene, his mom, Rashid, and everyone else he knew doing? Were they thinking about him sometimes, too? The chestnut-haired boy lightly smiled at his friend. Without him, he'd feel much worse. "But, at least I have you here."

Lux smiled back, nonverbally expressing he shared a similar sentiment. At that moment, a thought occurred to Nori: he was likely Lux's first real friend. He shuddered thinking about what it would be like without any.

"What is this?"

The voice of Tono cut in. Nori turned with a grumble to see the Gym Trainers on the approach from the right hall. Kallisto's eyes were wide in surprise. Eddie and Ollie were both sneering, whereas the bespectacled teen was giving them an empty yet hostile look.

Eddie stepped ahead of the pack. "You brought a chick here?"

"What?"

"What?!" The two almost spoke at the same time, but Nori's was more delayed. "No! Lux is a guy, first of all! Second, why's it a big deal that I brought a friend?"

The four took pause, exchanging glances. Ollie was the first to speak. "Really? That's a guy?"

"What do you mean, really?" Did they want to see Lux's wiener as proof or something?

Eddie raised his palms in defense. "Believe you," he said, adding the most insincere chuckle Nori had ever heard. "Thought he was a chick, that's all." Understandable given Lux's appearance, but he didn't get why they were making such a fuss.

"Yeah, he looks like a fa–"

"All right!" Kallisto interrupted Ollie mid-word. "Calm down guys, it's no big deal."

The pudgy teen huffed. "Fine."

"If you say so." Tono didn't show any physical reaction.

Eddie shrugged. "Sure."

Kallisto nodded and flashed a smile. "Go have fun with your friend. We'll be hanging out in the arena if you need us." He motioned for the three to follow.

As soon as Nori was sure they were out of earshot, he growled in frustration and lightly stamped a foot. "And now you've met the guys." He made no attempt to hide how he felt about most of them. Lux was fixated on the hall they had gone down. "Something wrong?"

"That was Kallisto Keravnos..." the purple-haired boy said with wonder.

"Yeah, it was."

"You get to train with him?"

Nori sighed. "Had to fight him and he crushed the Demon without even breaking a sweat." He looked around. Still no one here except them and the staff. But to be sure, he spoke his next words quieter. "To tell you the truth, I feel so worthless compared to him."

That was something he hadn't told anyone. He barely told it to himself. But he felt comfortable telling it to Lux. His friend wouldn't make fun of him for it.

"I know what that feels like..." Because of that. He was so nice and put up with so much bullying himself, that Nori felt he could fully trust him not to mock him for this. "But, I know you're very strong yourself, Nori." Lux reached out and touched his shoulder with assurance. "Don't feel bad. Even my big brother had trouble with him, and that's when Kallisto was a pretty new trainer himself."

Yes, that did make sense. Nori had forgotten. While he was nowhere near as strong as Kallisto, he had little to be ashamed of. He was still good. Better than most trainers at his level were. Just not crazy cheater good.

"You know, that was really nice."

"What did I do?"

He looked his friend in the eyes. "That was some nice encouragement, Lux. It helps a bit." He returned the shoulder pats. "Thank you."

"Well, I didn't do that much, I just..." Lux giggled lightly, his cheeks turning flush red.

Nori looked up at the clock on the wall. 3:51pm. "So!" he said, standing to his feet. "Wanna go upstairs? Most people can't go to that part of the Gym!"

Lux nodded. "Okay."

He wasn't sure if he was allowed to do this or not. But he figured it was better to apologize later than ask for permission now. Besides, Volkner was hard to reach when in his private area.

As they went up the stairs, Nori gave Lux a small tour. "Up here's a bunch of staff stuff. There's training rooms for people and Pokemon." He gestured to the lounge. "Gym Trainers hang out over there." He opened the door and briefly showed his friend around. "I live and sleep in a room just down the hall. Let's head there."

They continued to walk through the halls. When they rounded the corner, Nori saw a familiar blue and white squirrel wandering about. As it spotted them, it came hustling over.

"Oh, it's a Pachirisu!" said Lux.

It quickly reached them, jumping around the two with joy. "Yeah. Some Pokemon roam around the Gym. Volkner said it was an image thing. Security too."

Lux squatted down. It turned around and waved its tail. The purple-haired boy held out a hand, which the squirrel playfully whapped. "Wow! He's so cute!" So it was a he? He hadn't learned of the gender differences for Pachirisu yet, but supposed Lux must have. "Is he yours, Nori?"

"No, but he sure does like me." The Pachirisu rubbed his cheeks against Lux's. "Seems to like you, too."

The other boy stood. "I like Pokemon. I'd like to own them myself, but...well. Mom and dad aren't keen on it."

Nori took a guess. "Because of your big brother running off?"

"Yeah..."

"Heh, funny," Nori remarked. "Opposite of my ma. She used to insist I get into Pokemon. I didn't want to, but, well. I did anyway." Nori still in some ways couldn't believe he was here with the Demon when he wanted nothing to do with Pokemon half a year ago. He flashed Lux a thumbs up. "I'm sure you'll be able to have them eventually. Not like your parents can keep you from it forever."

Lux looked up a bit, but his expression didn't change. "I wish I could sooner, though."

"Yeah, I can get that." Lots of people get into Pokemon as kids. Starting out as an adult isn't unheard of, but most adults either step back from Pokemon or make a career out of them in some way.

Nori decided to change the subject. "Anyway, you know what happens today, right?"

Lux took a moment to realize. "Oh! New episode of Crime by Starlight!" he said. Nori nodded and grinned. That was the other reason he wanted to hang out with Lux. So they could listen to their radio drama together. "I almost forgot about it!"

Nori unlocked his door. "Yup! And it starts soon!" Every other Friday at 4pm, with repeats periodically from there. They went inside in eager anticipation.

##########

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¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..·· _January 31st, 2015_

The rest of the month flew by for Nori. School became enjoyable with Lux to hang out with every day. The stuff at the Gym had become a routine, for better or worse.

The Gym was closed on the last two days of every month. This was to allow more thorough maintenance and repairs to be made to the Gym that couldn't be done on half-day weekends. As Volkner was taking these days off himself, Nori had no training scheduled. In fact, the Gym Leader gave him authority to oversee the maintenance crews and make sure they were doing a good job. He had a bit of fun going and yelling at the adults from the balconies.

As Nori ate his lunch, the door creaked. He had left it open to make sure the workers were actually working instead of looking at their phones. Nori alertly turned, not noticing immediately due to the one responsible being so small. But the Pachirisu quickly spotted him and came bounding onto the table. Nori had to push his bowl of chicken soup aside as the squirrel carelessly allowed his tail to go wherever.

"Hey...no." He held his tuna sandwich over his head as the Pokemon sniffed at it. Bread and ramen together was a delicacy back home, and he hadn't yet gotten used to it being so readily available here. The Pachirisu peered at him, eyes wide. "You really want some?" he asked.

The squirrel's tail started swishing. Pokemon could eat people food okay most of the time, as he learned. A squirrel that likes fish, though? Not questioning it further, Nori pulled a piece off and placed it down. With a squeal, the Pachirisu snatched it and scurried to a corner of the room, where he sat nibbling at it.

He polished off what was left of the soup and sandwich, rinsed the plate and bowl he used in the sink, and sat in one of the sofa chairs. Soon after, the door opened again. The boy looked over his shoulder and sighed a bit when he saw who it was.

"What are you doing here?" Nori asked. The Gym Trainers had the day off too. Everyone else had chosen to do whatever else instead of coming in to train, and Kallisto wasn't here earlier. Why was he here now?

"Eh." The handsome teenager took his coat off. "Had a moment and was in the area, so I thought I'd stop in."

Well, it was nice that he came by to say hello, but Nori wasn't sure how to feel about this. He and Kallisto weren't really friends. They might be able to be, if not for the other Gym Trainers.

Kallisto sat on the large sofa. There were three comfy places to sit in the lounge: the one-seater Nori was on, the two seater across from him, and the sofa that four of them could cram into. "So, you've been at this for a month now," the heterochromic teen stated. "Nice to have a couple days off?"

Nori was silent. He decided to lay his thoughts bare. "More nice I get a break from those guys." Kallisto was reasonable, at least.

The teen nodded. "Yeah, sorry about them. They can be a little..." He paused, and Nori cut in.

"Rude? Egotistical? Stupid?" All of the above?

Kallisto just laughed. "They're good at heart, at least. Can't deny their skill, at worst."

If they were good at heart, Nori hadn't seen any of it. They even took snips at each other and rarely Kallisto, some of which was mean-spirited rather in good fun.

"How about your training? How's it coming?"

Again, he decided to just say what was on his mind. "Pretty bad," he admitted. "Still haven't gotten the target test down, and the other stuff's getting hard. How am I supposed to know Galarian books from a hundred years ago?!"

Kallisto leaned back, placing an arm on the sofa. "I thought so," he said. "Volkner can be aloof like that. Plus he likes to throw you in the deep end and see if you can swim or not."

The deep end.

Swimming.

Water.

Sinking.

"Something wrong?"

Nori opened his eyes. "Never mind," he said, untensing. Dumb metaphor. "I've been doing okay so far. But I don't know if I can keep this up. Especially if he's not interested like you said he might be." The Gym Leader certainly was acting indifferent towards him at times. That would explain a lot.

"From what I know, you're an assignment from the Officials for him." That would make sense. Nori guessed even officials would have to do weird things sometimes. "He probably doesn't care for some of things they want him to teach you. Wish I could do something to help."

Nori lowered his head. When he first got here, he was excited. He was going to train under the best Gym Leader in the region, which meant he would be able to get the best help available. But none of that meant anything if Volkner wasn't willing to train him.

Kallisto abruptly stood with a snap of his fingers. "Got it! Want to train under me?" The slightly chiseled teen walked over. "All the guys do it. I'm always willing to help those who need it. I can't help with everything, but I should be able to teach you a thing or two about battle. Eleventh grader too, so I can help with school too. How about it?"

He was offered a handshake. Training under Kallisto. If he was good enough to defeat the Demon, he would know how to train Pokemon. Even the Gym Pokemon had trouble with Nidorina; she'd beaten them all in sparring matches except Volkner's Luxray. The Leader wasn't willing to teach him Pokemon strategies or training techniques yet. Here was Kallisto offering to do just that.

But no. Nori shook his head. If he did this, it'd just be like giving up and taking the easy way out. "Sorry," he said. "Do appreciate your help sometimes. But I'm fine for now. Don't need it, or want it."

Kallisto frowned in dejection, but nodded. "Think about it. Offer stands." He started towards the door, grabbing his coat. "Anyway, all I wanted to talk to you about. See you." He waved.

"Bye."

Kallisto left, and as soon as he was gone, Nori cursed himself. He didn't regret his choice. Yet part of him was wishing that he had taken that offer on the spot. This was too much. He had to balance school with training, all while dealing with a Gym Leader who didn't care and Gym Trainers who seemed to want to make his life miserable. Nori was one not to back down from adversity. Whether it was the authorities with the Demon, a popular rich kid trying to ostracize him, or just a tough test in school, he always rose to the occasion and got the job done.

This time was different. This time it seemed that no matter what he was doing, none of it mattered. He was making no traction or going in circles with the training. And he couldn't do anything about the Gym Trainers. They wouldn't stop, and he couldn't get physical with them when they were so much bigger and more numerous.

For the first time in his life, Nori Carino was worried that he wouldn't be able to succeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't mean for this to run long. But when you have a recurring plot thread centered around a day of the month, it's probably a good idea to show the first instance of it. Kept it as short as I could while using the chance to give Kallisto more exposition.


	5. February of Progression (first part)

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 1st, 2015_

"Noticed you and that Pachirisu get along well."

On the morning of the first day of the new month, Nori was approached by Volkner in the halls. He had barely left his room when the Gym Leader accosted him. The aforementioned Pokemon was walking with the blond man, but immediately ran over and hugged Nori's leg.

"Well," Nori spoke, while peering down at it. "It's more he took a liking to me."

"I want you to train him."

"What?! Why?"

"What do you mean, what?" the blond man asked. "Don't like it?"

"No, I just..." He again eyed the Pokemon, who was beaming ear from ear at this news. Nori had to admit, he had a really silly reason for being uncomfortable. "I feel like such a cliche walking around with an electric rodent."

"Just do it," Volkner said with a light grumble. "It's the least cliche thing you can have here."

Well, that was also true. Shinx and Elekid were extremely common choices of Pokemon in Sinnoh. Jolteon was popular everywhere for being related to Eevee, and Pikachu moreso to the point of people not even being sure why it was so popular. Magnemite had its fans. Compared to the other Sinnoh native Pokemon, a Pachirisu would be a strange pick for an Electric type.

One thing remained on his mind. "But you didn't tell me why yet." Why spring this on him all of a sudden?

"Most trainers' Pokemon are caught early. They raise them and grow with them. This won't apply to most of yours, but you need to learn this skill in case you need it."

That did make sense. It didn't occur to Nori, but he'd be taking a very different path from almost every other trainer. They go out on their journey, find what they want to catch, and catch them. They get to raise the Pokemon from humble beginnings to mighty battlers, and probably fail at the very end to some overpowered veteran anyway. But not Nori. He would be getting Pokemon who probably had a lot of experience already, like his Nidorina. The opportunity to raise something from the start was certainly going to be uncommon for him.

"Well, I'm up for this! How about you?" He knew this was a rhetorical question, and just wanted to see how the squirrel would react. It did so by scampering up his body and sitting on his shoulder. He cringed, feeling like even more of a cliche at that. Lucky only Volkner was around to see. "Thought so," he said, with a bit of nervous apprehension.

"His ball's here." Volkner held out an ordinary Poke Ball. "You'll be graded on this."

Of course. He should've expected that. "Got it!" He clapped his hands. He wasn't unhappy about this, just a bit uneasy of how things would go. "Well, let's go..." His stomach chose that moment to remind him that he hadn't had breakfast yet. "Um, eat first. Then let's to the training room! Get some practice in."

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 2nd, 2015_

Nori broke the news to Lux during lunch hour the next day.

"So he really is your Pokemon now?!" the purple-haired boy asked, his eyes nearly sparkling.

"Yup!"

"That's so cool!"

"Only you'd say that about a Pachirisu." Nori chuckled, but this made Lux groan. He reassured him, "I don't mean it badly at all. Makes you who you are. You like cute Pokemon and aren't afraid to admit it. I like that, not being anyone but you no matter what. Just like I can say you're my friend, screw anyone who doesn't like it!"

Lux sheepishly smiled. He wiped an eye. "Thanks, Nori. Umm..."

He held out his arms. Did he want to hug right now? "Not now," Nori waved off. There were too many people around, including a girl who was walking up behind Lux. "Er?"

"Hey Nori!"

"Hey, uh...?" Who was this? Red hair, blue eyes...

"I'm Jamie! I sit behind you, don't you remember?"

"Oh, oh yeah! Sure." He only vaguely recognized her. She was wearing girlish clothing; even her pink jacket had frills and a flower decal on it. "What's up?"

"Wanna come see something cool?"

"See what?"

"That old cabin!" What old cabin? Before he could ask, she kept talking on. "It's with me and some of my friends."

"And me," said a taller boy who came walking in from behind. Nori scowled at the sight of the boy with spiked brown hair. He spared Jamie a side-glance. "Overheard 'em, and I ain't missin' this."

"Spike!" Lux gasped, immediately standing behind and holding onto Nori.

"Relax, crybaby," Spike assured, waving him away. "Not here for you."

"Well um, sh-should you really be leaving school grounds?" Lux said this to everyone. Neither Jamie or Spike gave him an answer, so he looked to Nori.

He shrugged. "It'll be fine. It's lunch, we have time." He looked up the clock. Fifteen minutes into lunch. "I think. So it sounds okay to me."

Jamie put her hands together, nearly beaming. "Great! I'll tell the others, and we'll leave right away!"

Nori turned to his friend. "Okay, let's go check out whatever this is, Lux."

Spike scoffed. "We were only invitin' you, so–"

"Hey, Lux is my friend, and screw you if you don't like it!" He looked back at his friend with a grin. "Either we both come or neither of us does!"

He was loud enough that Jamie actually overheard. She had been excitedly chattering with three of her friends over in the field, and she shouted back. "He can come, too!"

It only hit Nori at that moment that Lux might not want to come. He sort of passively volunteered him. But he could amend that. "Well, you coming?" Nori asked. Lux could say no. What mattered to him was that they were giving him a chance to.

But Lux did agree. "I guess..." He sounded tentative, but was willing to try this. Nori was relieved to hear this. That meant Lux wouldn't have to be by himself, nor would he if these people turned out to be undesirable.

\---

The group left the school grounds and headed to the northwest. There were seven of them present. Besides them, there was Jamie's best friend Kelsey, and two others in her circle named Arty and Marie who appeared very close. They talked about various things along the way, although none that gave any clue to their destination.

As they had entered a lightly wooded area, Nori found himself walking alongside Jamie behind the others. "So Nori, you never told me," Jamie asked.

"Told you what?" He tilted his head.

"I asked you the first day at school if you wanted to hang out, but you never told me."

"Oh." That was technically true. Truth be told, she'd slipped his mind. She never brought it up again, so he assumed she didn't care that much. Guess he was wrong. "Well I guess I am now, aren't I?" She'd invited him on something, and now here they were, hanging out.

Jamie giggled at this. She reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Yup."

"Uhhh..." She was holding his hand. They were holding hands!

"Let's go out!"

"W-why!?" Nori stuttered.

He was trying to get away, but she kept her grip tight and pulled him a bit closer. "You're smart and cute. And cool, too."

"C-cute?!"

"Not like, hot. But you are cute." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

Nori felt all the blood rushing to his face at once. He didn't hate this. But this was so much and so fast! One minute he was being invited to something, the next he was being asked out? Jamie was pretty cute herself, but this was too sudden! He had no idea how to handle this!

He begged for a way to get out of this for now. There had to be something, anything! He looked ahead at the others, noticing Spike lightly shoving Lux around. An excuse!

"Uh, hey!" He broke free and hustled on ahead. Spike swiftly turned around and put up his hands defensively.

"Relax, man. What's the deal? Just teasin' him."

"It looked more than that to me!" Not to mention his tone. Spike sounded more insincere with every word that was coming out of his mouth.

"Chill, man, chill." The tall boy chuckled.

Kelsey, a blonde girl who had a matching outfit to Jamie, gave assurance. "We were just talking with Lux. I'll make sure Spike doesn't bug him. Just go do your thing, okay?"

He sighed. Was that the point of this? To get Jamie alone with him so she could tell him she likes him? He would've preferred if she was just up front. He gazed at his friend. "Were they just talking, Lux?"

His friend nodded. "Y-yes..."

"Okay, good." He looked back at Jamie, who was holding her hand out. He still needed some time to process this. He'd need to spend more time with her to figure if he could like her too. "Well, I came here to see that cabin, so let's go." He smiled at Jamie. "For now." May as well keep the door open. For now.

This was enough to make the two girls smile back, and lead the way to their destination.

\---

"There it is."

Jamie pointed down. They had come to the edge of a cliff overlooking a remote beach. There were a few trees around; they had to trudge a bit of urban wilderness to reach here. Nori figured it was about a 15 meter drop to...the ocean below.

"The old cabin."

"Gonna run away cryin'?"

"No...I'll be fine..."

The waves were crashing against the base of the cliff. They looked like they wanted to reach up and grab them, pulling them into their cold murky depths. And it was winter, so the water would be even colder. And the ground was slippery. They could easily fall from here and drown. This area was remote, and none of them had their Pokemon because of school rules. There'd be no one to help them except whoever lived there.

"What's wrong?"

Lux's concern brought Nori out it. "Nothing!" he yelped. "It's nothing."

As if sensing his weakness, Spike grinned maliciously. "Heh, you're not scared, are you?"

"No, I'm not!" Yes he was.

He took a deep breath. Just look at the cabin. It appeared old, maybe built over a hundred years ago. The wood was rotting, covered in moss and seaweed. There were holes in it that looked like they'd been patched over. Some of the windows were boarded up, and those that weren't were broken or just not there. The door stood out as the one thing that looked new, but even it looked like a makeshift piece of wood.

It didn't look very impressive, really. "What's so scary about this cabin, anyway?" he asked.

"You can't walk to it. You have to go by water or air," Jamie explained. "They say an old sea dog lives in it."

"I hear he catches Remoraid and eats them raw," said Kelsey.

A quivering Lux nodded. "I hear his Sharpedo eats anyone who gets too close."

"Pft. Probably just some tryhard." Spike laughed it off. The bully scratched his head. "Did hear even the cops want nothin' to do with him, though."

Nori was offered the binoculars by Lux. He had good eyesight, but gave them a look anyway. With them he noticed something he hadn't before. Instead of a eye-hole, knocker, or horseshoe, there was a set of teeth that looked like it came from some marine Pokemon on the rickety door. As he was trying to get a better look, it swung open.

Everyone gasped. "There he is!" Jamie quivered. Nori passed off the binoculars to her.

A figure emerged from the cabin. He barely looked human. He was wearing a brown full body coat and hat that were in tatters. He had a visible hunch and was walking with a cane made of bones. His gray mustache and locks looked more like a mesh of wires than hair. His face was shriveled up like a raisin, and his skin was an ashen gray. As he walked, Nori noticed one of his arms was prosthetic.

It went deathly quiet. No one around Nori dared make a sound. Nor did they move. It was like a Hypno had come along and entranced them all. Well, more precisely. They were scared, but they didn't want to look away.

What happened next happened in an instant. Arty's nose started to twitch. He vocalized, trying to hold it in. "Arty, no!" rasped Marie. The pink-haired girl tried to cover his mouth, but it didn't help. He sneezed. Loudly. 

The sea dog immediately turned to face them. His visage contorted so much that looked like a monster.

Screams echoed around him. The others turned and ran. Nori was knocked over as Spike's huge form collided into his. He himself screamed as he lost his balance. The horrifying reality flashed through his mind at that moment. He was falling! He was going to fall into the ocean!

He fell. He felt like he was falling forever. This was it. This was how he was going to die. Drowning in the waters of another city, if not worse. He wished he'd listened to Lux. He wished he had never come along on this and just stayed there with him. He was falling,

He fell and finally hit his destination. He felt the coldness envelop his side. He immediately snapped to.

He had hit the snow.

Nori noticed seconds after that was still looking at the sea dog. The old man continued to glare at him. The boy stood, not taking his eyes off the man. His feet felt grafted to the ground. What was he going to do? The boy knew he couldn't defend himself, but the sea dog could only hurt him with a Pokemon. Or a gun. He wouldn't do either of those. Right? The coated man gave no answers and took no action, only continuing to glare. 

Eventually, Nori turned and left, disinterested in waiting.

\---

It took Nori a while, but made it back to school. Kids were still in the fields and playground, so it was still lunch break. A crowd of about fifteen to twenty people had gathered, including some familiar faces.

"Nori!" Lux was the first to notice him, followed by Jamie.

"You're alive!"

The crowd descended upon him. Lux ran in front, incidentally blocking Jamie who looked like she wanted to give Nori a tight hug. He swiftly found himself surrounded by his peers, from classmates to first graders. A barrage of questions came towards him.

"What happened?!"

"You okay?"

"Did you get away from the sea dog?"

"What did he do?!"

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"Nothing," Nori had to nearly shout to be heard over them, but once he did, they listened intently. "He just kept glaring at me without doing anything and I eventually left."

The crowd burst into awe intermixed with cheering. Nori could make out a few individual comments.

"Whoa!"

"You're like, a badass!"

"You stared him down?"

"Wicked!"

"You sure showed him, I think!"

A ringing interrupted this, cutting through the schoolyard. Nori huffed in relief. So this was what it meant to be saved by the bell. Any more of that, and he was going to be more flustered than he was with Jamie. He motioned to Lux and started out towards their classroom.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 3rd, 2015_

Nori sat at the desk in his room, scribbling away at a piece of paper. He was writing a letter to his mom about what had been happening over the past month. He asked her how she was doing. He told her about the Gym, and how things were much harder than he thought. He talked about Volkner, Kallisto, and the other Gym Trainers, not holding back his opinion on the latter. Of course, he made sure to tell her all about his new friend Lux, and mentioned Jamie as well.

Eventually, he laid down his pencil. Was that good? It was his first time writing a letter, so he wasn't sure. Maybe he could come back to it later. He'd have to write something to Maylene, too. He could mostly write the same things about the Gym and Lux, but of course he wanted to say more to her. That kiss was still on his mind from time to time...

Well, more importantly. He'd have to figure out how to send the letters. At least there was someone he could ask for help...

"Hey, Mr. Denzi?" He managed to catch him in the halls. The Gym Leader gave an empty stare that suddenly made Nori a bit afraid to ask this. He pushed through anyway. "Um, I wanted to send this letter to my mom. And another to my friend Maylene. But I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Volkner's reply was swift and simple. "Just put it in an envelope, write the address and postcodes in the middle, and the return address in the top left." He paused, scratching his cheek. "I'll give you the stamp."

Yes, stamps. You needed those. That'd help if Volkner could get him those! But, there was another problem. "I don't know their addresses, though. Or their postcodes."

"Look it up."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

Volkner's reply was to turn and leave, shaking his head all the while.

"Hey! Don't walk away!" Volkner didn't respond, leaving Nori to ponder things as-is.

The addresses. He knew the streets they lived on, but that wouldn't be enough. What was he supposed to do here? Would he just not be able to mail them, unless they mailed him first? It looked that way, with Volkner not being willing to help him with that. The boy sighed.

\---

One other person he could ask came to mind. Nori thankfully managed to catch the orange and pink haired teenager in the lobby as he was leaving for the day. He wanted to bring this up when none of the other Gym Trainers were around. He was worried they'd give him no end of harassment for something like this.

"Um, Kallisto?" he spoke up to get his attention. "I want to send letters to my mom and a friend of mine, just to let them know how I'm doing. But I don't know how. I know their street names, but not their address or their postcodes. Can you help me?"

As soon as Nori finished speaking, he cursed himself. This was silly. Kallisto said he'd be willing to help him with things. But something like this? It was too dumb. There was no way he'd do this.

Yet to his surprise, the head Gym Trainer smiled. "Sure thing, Carino. I'd be happy to help you." Nori nearly cheered. Yes! He'd actually be able to do this! Kallisto placed a finger on his chin. "Well. I know you lived in a trailer park, and I don't know how that works."

At once, the boy deflated. "I don't know either!"

"But!" and with this he raised his finger. "Got an idea. Does your friend know where you live?"

A nod. "Yes, she does."

"You can send her both the letters and tell her to deliver the other to your mom. That should work."

"It should!" Yeah, it'd be perfect!

"You said she lives on a named street?"

"I do! She lives on Okaiwa Avenue!" 

"Okay." Kallisto turned to go somewhere, only to immediately stop on sight of someone. Nori recoiled. Tono was still here?! Kallisto greeted his fellow Gym Trainer warmly. "Hey, was just about to come get you. Carino needs your help with something."

Tono, help him? The two eyed each other, just as confused.

\---

Kallisto borrowed Tono's laptop to bring up a map of Veilstone. He typed Okaiwa Avenue, zoomed in, and much to Nori's surprise, brought up a view of the street. You could do that? Suddenly, he found himself wondering who made these and what sorts of things they found incidentally.

"I do not understand why you will not simply send an email," Tono suddenly spoke up, mildly irritated.

Nori gave the honest truth. "We don't have an email. Neither does she. I don't even have a computer." They couldn't afford anything like that. Maylene was only slightly better off. She lived in a house, but had only basic things. She did have a computer, but her dad never let her use it.

The bespectacled teen sighed. "Ridiculous. How could you live without one?"

"Uh, I just do?" What kind of question was that?

As they were speaking, Kallisto had been slowly panning through the view of the street. "Do you see her house?"

Nori pointed. "Yes, it's that one there." It looked like an old picture. It didn't have a boarded up window, for example. But he'd recognize where Maylene lived anywhere. It was the only brown one on the block, so it was easy to remember.

"3320." Kallisto clicked something, and nodded. "I'll just write the postcode down for you." He scribbled it down on a piece of paper. "There, that's her full address."

"Great!" Nori clapped his hands and lightly bowed. "Thanks, you two!" They really did him a huge favor here! He was surprised Tono even helped him too. He wasn't even rude. The most he did was make that dismissive comment. Maybe he'd have to change the letter a bit in his regard.

"Anytime, Carino."

"You are welcome, I suppose."

With this, Tono got his laptop and the two Gym Trainers departed through the front doors. Nori smiled, and this time he couldn't help but cheer. He was actually going to be able to do this! Right as soon as he finished writing the letters.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 5th, 2015_

At school that Thursday, the students were asked to come up in front of the class and tell what they wanted to be when they grew up. This made no sense to Nori, this was a question you'd ask first graders. Who'd know exactly what they wanted to be at this stage of their life? Okay, besides weird edge cases like himself.

"Andrea Angel." They were going in alphabetical order by last name. The first to come up was this girl Nori couldn't describe as any way other than strange. She was dressed in all black, was wearing a spider armband, and had pale white hair and blue eyes.

"I'm thinking of becoming a Pokemon researcher," she said. Okay, that was fair enough. Lots of kids his age liked Pokemon. And you could really make a career of that. The teacher wrote something down before calling the next person.

"Lux Blomgren."

Oh, hey! Nori looked over to his friend with a grin. The purple haired boy stood nervously. He stepped out from his desk, legs shaking. He glanced out at the class, blurting out his answer without going to the front.

"I don't know."

Lux jerked down and buried his face in his arms. Several kids snickered. Nori sighed. It was hard for many people to perform in front of others. He wished he could reach over and give his friend a pat of reassurance. But he was too far away, plus everyone would see. The problems with sitting up front...

Mrs. DeWood had a light scowl on her face as she jotted something down. "Spike Caras."

With a proud grin, the tall boy powerwalked up front and center. He boisterously placed his hands on his hips. "Well, for starters, I want to go on a journey when I can." Nori had to roll his eyes at this one. Typical. "Besides that, music. Wanna be just like the Scrafty Bastards."

A few kids laughed. Nori included. It was immature, sure, but he couldn't believe Spike actually said that. The teacher scolded him. "That is an inappropriate word to use."

"Hey, it's their name!" Spike laughed as he went to sit back down. He gave Nori a glance as he passed by, as if daring him to do it too.

"Nori Carino."

His turn next. The boy stood and stepped in front. This would be his second time speaking in front of the class after his first day here. Like before, it was nothing to him.

"So um, I guess with me it's not what I want to be but what I'm going to be. So I'm going to be the world's first Pokemon Rehabilitator. That means I'm going to train Pokemon with serious issues that can't be handled by facilities and places like that. I'm already training to do that every day after school, over at Sunyshore Gym." Nori paused for just a second. Well if Spike was challenging him to be defiant, he could do that. "I also think this question's stupid,  
because who really knows what they want to be–"

"That's enough. Sit down." Ah well, he tried. "Jerry DiCarlo."

As Nori sat down, his attention was taken by Lux looking over at him. There was envy in his indigo-colored eyes, but not of the negative kind. "You're so good at ta–"

"Quiet down!" the teacher snipped. Lux cringed in embarrassment, again falling into his arms. Nori eyed the teacher in annoyance. Why was she so riled up about two kids whispering to each other? Another reason why it was better to sit at the back...he'd just have to talk to Lux later.

\---

Every day when Nori came back from school, Pachirisu would be waiting for him in the lobby. He would be greeted with a nuzzle or leg hug before they went up to his room. He'd put his school stuff inside, get Nidorina's Poke Ball, and come down to the Gym to start training.

Today he had been given free time to do whatever he wanted, as long as it was Pokemon related. Nori wanted to take the chance to get his Pokemon some exercise. He was about to send out Nidorina to join him and Pachirisu in running a couple laps around the arena, when the Gym Trainers approached.

"Hey, Carino," greeted Kallisto. 

"Hey." It was nice to be greeted politely for once, but as he had been learning, they rarely approached him to just talk. They always wanted something. "Uh, what do you guys want?"

"We came to talk!" shouted Ollie. Well, yes. That much was obvious. But what else?

Tono rolled his eyes at his chubby companion and clarified. "We were just wondering why you are keeping your Pachirisu out of his Poke Ball."

He stepped towards them. "Because, he likes being out of his Poke Ball!"

Eddie snorted and shook his head. "You don't need to get so defensive."

"We're just saying. I know you were worried about your image and looking like a cliche. Having him out of his Poke Ball won't help with that." Kallisto lowered his head slightly. "Sorry if it came out wrong."

So they were just looking out for him? In their own twisted way. Nori had vented about this the first day, but as the week went by, he found himself getting used to it. Besides, another thought had occurred. "I mean, I've accepted having him," he said with a shrug. "May as well accept that if it makes him feel better."

The leader of the Gym Trainers smiled in approval. "It's a good way of thinking."

"Yes, I have to agree," agreed Tono, much to Nori's surprise. Tono was saying something positive? "Respecting your Pokemon is a praiseworthy trait."

"I think it's retarded."

Kallisto looked over at the chubby teen. "Ollie–"

"No, he needs to hear this!" He stomped up and got in Nori's face. The chestnut-haired boy didn't even flinch at first. "Here's the rule! Image matters!" Nori did have to take a step away at this point as saliva started flying into his face. "We do things and don't do things because of our image, and don't even try to lie! I know you do it too! You're gonna look like some idiot ten-year old walking down route with an electric rodent on your shoulder! No one'll take you seriously!" He waved his fist. "You need to show your Pokemon who's boss!"

Nori looked the others with a huff. Kallisto and Tono both shrugged. Eddie motioned as if to say it was all his. He breathed in before replying. "You're not making yourself look very good by saying all this that way."

The others nodded in agreement. Ollie gritted his teeth. "Oh yeah? Well I bet I could kick your dumb little rat's ass!" He faced the Gym Leader. "Can I do this, Volkner?"

The blond man actually was in the arena, albeit engrossed in some sort of electronics magazine. "Go ahead," he said, not even looking up from it.

"Ha! You're going down like a bitch, bitch!" Ollie punctuated this boast with a hearty laugh before strutting to the other side of the battlefield. Kallisto nodded to Nori before leading the others to the bleachers to watch.

Okay, a battle. Nori wasn't planning on this, and he didn't like his chances. No matter how much potential it had or training it was given to be a Gym Pokemon, Pachirisu was still inexperienced in actual battle. While it was true that there was only one way to get that experience, Ollie was still a Gym Trainer. And they wouldn't get any quarter from him.

The hefty teen twirled as he sent out...some sort of pancake Pokemon? It looked insane. It had two small fins and a wide yellow tail. "Stunfisk is a Ground type! You don't got a chance!"

This fish thing was a Ground type?! Great. "You're using basic type advantage," he said with a sigh. "That's nothing to brag about." Ollie twitched. Given the Gym's theming, it was likely part Electric too.

Pachirisu was ready, if uncertain. There was no one judging, which was fine by Nori. He didn't see the point of them in a non-official capacity. People just did it to feel important, as far as he knew. Plus it'd spare him from hearing the inevitable at the end of this.

"Let's crush'em quick, Stunfisk! Mud Shot!"

Here it came, the first Ground type move. "Look out!" he warned his Pokemon as the other fired the attack off. Pachirisu peered up and saw it. He yelped, just barely managing to hop away from the goopy ball. "Focus!" he told it. He was a bit slow to dodge there. Now what could they do in return? "Um, Quick Attack?"

Stupid Ground types. Half their options were gone here. Still, the blue and white squirrel charged in for a body blow at great speed. The Stunfisk didn't even attempt to dodge. Nori saw Ollie smirk, but it was too late.

"Revenge is a bitch!"

The flat Pokemon lashed out, whipping Pachirisu with its entire body. The squirrel cried out as he was sent tumbling across the ground.

Ollie pumped his arms. "Mud Bomb again! Hit this time!"

There was no chance to avoid this. Pachirisu was just getting to his feet when it landed, knocking him right back down. Nori hummed in frustration. What could they do here? All they had was Quick Attack and Super Fang! And Sweet Kiss, maybe.

"Again! Mud Bomb again!"

Damn it. "Come on, Nori. Focus..." he mumbled to himself. He looked to his Pokemon, but Pachirisu didn't even try to avoid this, getting knocked down yet again. That's right, he had to tell Pachirisu to dodge, otherwise he wouldn't do so! He wasn't like Nidorina. As little sense as it made!

Pachirisu pushed himself up. He was standing, but barely. Anything more than a light breeze could end this, though. "Try to get in close," he said.

"Uh-uh!" Ollie wagged a finger. "Finish it with Thunderbolt!"

That was it. It was over. The pancake-like Pokemon tensed and let loose with a burst of electricity. Even if he told his Pokemon to dodge, Pachirisu was in no condition to do so. He could only watch helplessly as his Pokemon's entire form was lit up by the powerful attack.

As it faded, Pachirisu remained standing for several seconds. He eventually shook himself off and appeared invigorated? What happened? Why didn't that work? Nori was dumbfounded, left to scratch his head. As was his opponent.

"Volt Absorb?" Kallisto called from the stands.

"Shit!" cursed Ollie. "Muddy Water!"

Wait, they were still in this! "Pachirisu–" His words died in his throat as he saw the attack that was coming. A wave of brown water a couple meters high, being thrown right towards them!

Nori screamed, scurrying to the side. "Run! Take cover!" Pachirisu ran, but it was hard to avoid a wave crashing across the entire battlefield. The squirrel was trying to get behind a pillar when he got swept up. And it was coming for him too! Nori ran as fast as he could, but there was just no escape! He heard the liquid getting closer, and eventually, it splashed against him.

"Ha ha! Pussy!"

Nori stopped at Ollie's taunt. The wave didn't sweep him up, it didn't wash him away. He didn't even feel anything. Did it get smaller? He looked down at his feet. They were waterproof, but were covered in grime. Ugh. That was going to be a pain to clean. But there was something more concerning. His Pokemon had been washed up right next him. He needed one look to tell Pachirisu was unconscious. "Oh no."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ollie threw his arms in the air and started jumping. "OH YES! I did it! I won! You're the best, Stunfisk!" He ran over and slapped his Pokemon's tail, as if giving a high five.

Nori stamped a foot. "Well, like I said!" he yelled. "It was Ground against Electric and I had no way to counter! Are you happy you won an unfair fight, jackass?"

"Your Pachirisu knows Grass Knot."

"Huh?" He looked to see it was Volkner who had spoken. He was looking up from his magazine, a look of utter disappointment on his face. "I didn't know that."

"Oh." Ollie realized it too. If Nori had known that, his choice of Pokemon wouldn't have been so perfect. He quickly regained his demeanor, nearly doubling over as he pointed. "But hahaha! You're completely retarded if you don't even know your Pokemon's attacks! Haha! I beat you! Suck my dick!"

The other Gym Trainers spared him no mercy either, ranging from Kallisto giving him a blank stare to Tono's utter disgust. "You need to use your brain," the bespectacled teen said, patting his black hair.

"Fuckin' dumbass," Eddie said. "First rule of Pokemon battling, learn their moves."

Even Volkner got in on it. "You also completely quit and let your Pokemon get beat. You lose every battle you don't try in."

Kallisto was glancing away. Eventually, he spoke up as well. In a neutral tone. "I don't mean to pile on, but he's right. It wasn't fair to your Pokemon to just leave it out there like that."

That much, he could admit. He cradled his injured Pokemon in his arms for a moment. "I'm sorry, Pachirisu," he whispered. "I'll...try to get better. For your sake." For now, he did bring the squirrel Pokemon back to his ball.

Nori looked up to see Volkner was leaving, and Ollie was dancing over to him. "Was I so good you just gave up?"

"Screw you." Nori tried to push him, but Ollie kept his distance, blowing a raspberry.

"Quitters can't win! Stupid!"

"I know that!"

"And yet you quit." Tono's words were dripping with venom.

"Stop it!"

"Guys–" Kallisto tried to play mediator, but it was falling on deaf ears.

"I don't think he's stupid at all," Eddie sarcastically declared. "I think he's smart, actually! He knows when to give up! Because he knows he'll never be better than any of us!"

Nori marched over. "Say that to my face!" he yelled. He had to start fighting back. In fact, he was ready to punch Eddie when Kallisto jumped up and interposed.

"Calm down!" he ordered. "All of you!" The other Gym Trainers' eyes went wide, all of them nodding. "Now, Nori–"

"Don't even bother!" he cried out. "I know! I'm bad. I'm just a new trainer who happens to have one very strong Pokemon. She does most of the fighting for me. That's why I'm so bad with Pachirisu." He was a strong-hearted person. He'd put up with a lot of crap in his life. But this was just too much. He could barely fight back against any of this.

He didn't notice Kallisto walking over. He only realized he was even there when the older boy reached out put a hand on his shoulder. "I was going to say, you're right. That really wasn't a fair fight for you." He looked at the back doorway. "I think Volkner only let Ollie do it to teach you how to deal with a harsh loss."

"I know how to deal with it." He hated failure. He hated messing up. He'd recovered from a lot of things before. All you can do is just pick yourself up and keep going. Maybe try to fix things if you can. As he tried to by saying, "I could do without all the insults, though."

Eddie snorted. "Just a bit of trash talk. Relax, you wuss."

Kallisto glared. "Leaving that aside," he said, not even caring to dignify it. "No matter what happens with your Pokemon Rehabilitator job, you're very likely going to end up having to be a trainer. When you do that, you're going to run into a lot of people who are just better than you. All you can do against those people is train harder and come up with a strategy to win. You can't let setbacks get you down."

Nori could only nod at that. He never wanted to be a trainer. He wanted to do something meaningful with his life. That was part of why he ended up becoming a Pokemon Rehabilitator. It occurred to him that he might have to be a trainer anyway by doing this, but his experiences here were validating just about every reason why he hadn't wanted to become one. How could he match up against people who'd been at this longer than him?

"And Ollie," Kallisto said, taking on a far harsher tone. "Pushing around someone doesn't make you a good trainer. It makes you a bully. Stop. You're going too far with that attitude of yours, and disgracing us Gym Trainers."

The pudgy boy sighed and lowered his head. "Yes, man...sorry about that, Carino." He said this, but it was clear he didn't really mean it.

He turned to the other Gym Trainers. "You two good too?"

Eddie nodded. "Okay."

"Said my piece," Tono replied.

"It's settled then." He looked back to Nori. "Want to grab a bite to eat with us? We're headed to Wet Rock Diner. My treat."

"I just want to lie down."

He received a funny look for that, but Kallisto shrugged. "Get some rest if you have to, then."

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 6th, 2015_

Nori managed to catch Volkner in the morning before heading to school. He only sporadically was able to do so, and the boy was thankful he had been able to today. "Hey! Mr. Denzi!" he called out. The blond man turned, arching an eyebrow. "I uh, was thinking. I want to visit my friend Lux today after school. Is that fine?"

He didn't get a reply right away. The Leader stared at Nori blankly. Did he say something wrong? "Should I have asked that?" Nori worriedly asked.

"You can call me Volkner."

Oh. That was it? He was just being polite by calling him Mr. Denzi. They did say not to be so formal the first day here. Gym Leaders were often called their first names after all.

Still, it didn't answer his question. "But, what about Lux?"

Volkner sighed. "Do what you want."

"Thank you!" The boy could only grin at this.

\---

The idea had come to him on a whim last night. He did not want to hang out around the Gym after what happened yesterday. No doubt he was going to be subject to no end of mockery. He brought up the idea to Lux at school. His friend was fine with it. He was actually very excited. A new Crime by Starlight would be airing today too.

Lux escorted Nori to the parking lot, where his mom was waiting. She was driving a blue station wagon. The family resemblance was clear - she had the same dark purple hair and indigo eyes as his friend did. She was in a white-gray business suit with a gold colored tie.

"Hey mom!" Lux said. The windows were down, so he didn't have to open the door. It did make Nori wonder why she had them down when it was so cold, though. "Can Nori come over and play? He got permission!"

Nori rubbed the nape of his neck. "I kinda want to get away from the Gym for a bit," he explained his situation. "If that's okay, um, Mrs. Blomgren."

Like this morning, he asked an adult something politely and got silence in reply. Unlike this morning, the adult's mood was very much readable. She was leering at him in disgust. "I never liked you," she said.

"Hey, what?!"

"That husband of mine thinks it's good that Lux has a friend. If I had my way though, he'd have nothing to do with you." Lux's jaw dropped. Nori could only listen as she flew into a rant. "Pokemon trainers are worthless human beings. They serve no purpose in society except to achieve their own self-centered desires. They warp kids' minds and think it's okay to be a drifter instead of having a good proper well-paying job and starting a family."

The chestnut-haired boy had heard enough. "What's your problem, lady?!" he yelled, marching up to her.

Mrs. Blomgren nearly swatted him, but he avoided her swing. She did however level a finger in his face. "You will watch your mouth, young man! There's no way I'm letting a filthy trainer set foot in my household!"

"But I'm not a trainer–"

"You use the beasts, so you are! Come on, Lux!"

"Y-yes mom." He hastily entered the back seat, not daring to look at his friend at all. He hadn't even closed the door before his mom slammed on the accelerator. The tires of the car screeched as she sped away.

Trainers are worthless. He used to have that point of view. He got over it, but could he have ended up this way if he hadn't met the Demon? No, no, probably not. Mrs. Blomgren seemed to have a grudge against Pokemon themselves, and Nori never went as far as to deem the entire profession of training as useless - just often futile. But is that how he came across to others?

Then there was Lux. Was he never going to be able to see his friend again? Just because his mom didn't like him for helping Pokemon? What was her problem?

Nori growled. He wanted to scream. He would've if so many people weren't watching this unfold. Among them were Jamie and her friends. He didn't want to deal with this right now. He didn't want to deal with anything. The boy stormed away from the school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another case of a scene expanding on me, this one being the letter scene.


	6. February of Progression (second part)

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 7th, 2015_

The future official did not want to spend time at the Gym on the 6th, let alone after what had just happened. He instead took the chance to familiarize himself with the city. Nori loved exploring Veilstone. He knew almost every corner that he was allowed to roam in, and some that he wasn't. He hadn't gotten much of a chance to do so here, due to school and training taking up nearly all of his day. Sunyshore was a smaller city, but it was much harder to get around. He was able to get a general feel of the area around the school and Gym before returning at around 6:30pm.

Mercifully, he was not forced into any late night learning, and he successfully avoided seeing the Gym Trainers. He remained in no mood to deal with them when they came sauntering up the next day. Nori was sitting on the bleachers at the time, watching his Pachirisu frolic.

"Hey there, kid," Eddie taunted, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

He jumped to his feet. "You better back the hell off, Eddie."

"Whoa, whoa, hey!" The dark-skinned teen raised his palms, although remained smirking. "Easy there. What's the deal? You have a fight with your friend or something?"

Nori laid his feelings bare. "First, it's you I don't like. Second, no! It's his mom! She hates me because because I have Pokemon!" 

Ollie and Kallisto blinked, their expressions wide. The former's jaw dropped. Tono rolled his eyes. "One of those types, I see."

"Yeah." Nori wasn't sure why he was venting to them of all people. But he figured, screw it. He wanted to vent about this to somebody! "She didn't want me visiting him. She said, ‘Pokemon trainers are worthless humans beings!’ And other stuff too, like calling Pokemon beasts, or that trainers mess with kids' minds."

Eddie raised his eyebrows. "The fuck, man?"

"That's messed up," agreed Ollie.

Kallisto shook his head. "I'm sorry to hear that, Carino."

They were being sympathetic. They were being nice. Genuinely. Nori was surprised at this. Even they knew how bad this was. The boy let out a sorrowful sigh. "I used to not have a good view of trainers, but even I didn't go that far."

The bespectacled teen crossed his arms. "There are a lot of fools out there with bad opinions about Pokemon."

"Yeah," agreed Ollie. "We deserve respect! Journeying's a lot of work!"

"It's not even that she hates journeys," he explained. "She hates anyone who owns Pokemon. She might even hate Pokemon themselves."

Tono scowled. It was the first time Nori had seen him appear genuinely angry. "Ridiculous and disgusting. They are as much a part of this world as us."

Ollie nodded. "Uh, yeah! What he said!"

Nori threw up his arms. "Not to her! We're all horrible scum, according to her." Eddie waved a hand dismissively. "And I think it's all this because Lux's big brother left home to travel. I'm only guessing, but that's all I can come up with." Maybe she hated them for no good reason.

The dark-skinned teenager shrugged. "He must've had his reasons. Maybe he wanted to get the fuck outta there. Know I would if my mom was like that."

"Yeah, I know..."

Kallisto, who had been remaining in quiet contemplation throughout this, at last spoke up. "Pokemon training has a rich history. A lot of people forget that it wasn't always about the sport. There's lots of different stories and theories on how people first came to use Pokemon. Some say it was for hunting, some say it was by a deity's blessing, others say it was for the Pokemon to keep themselves in-check. But all of them agree that people started training Pokemon for good reasons, and to improve the lives of both humanity and Pokemon." He paced and gesticulated as his spoke, pausing for a moment. "There's nothing wrong with being a trainer. If your friend's mother doesn't see that, well."

He paused again. Eddie took the chance to cut in. "Ignore her. She's a bitch."

Everyone laughed. Even Nori couldn't help himself. "Thanks, Eddie. Wanted to say that in a better way, but," and with this Kallisto shrugged. "More or less covers it."

"A woman like her is worth no one's time," Tono added.

"I'd love to ignore her, but..." Nori closed his eyes. He sat back down on the bleachers. This was the worst part. "...if she has her way, Lux and me can't be friends anymore. The good thing is his dad doesn't seem to mind, but I don't know."

"Denying her child friends?" said Tono. "That sounds akin to abuse."

The head Gym Trainer sat down beside him. "If it's any consolation, we got your back." He punctuated this with a pat on the back.

Despite their present kindness, Nori had to roll his eyes at that. Kallisto was okay, but if the Gym Trainers were his friends, he'd hate to meet his enemies. Still, maybe this was that good heart Kallisto was talking about.

"Anyway, I have to do the target test. Again." Even with the advice he'd been given, he still hadn't beaten it. Volkner seemed to be getting sick of setting it up all the time.

"Good luck," Kallisto said, the others nodding in agreement. "I know you're going to get this soon. We'll be watching and cheering." For once, it seemed like they meant it.

\---

Pachirisu fired a light jolt at a faraway target before jumping through the space between a moving one. They'd made it to round thirteen on the first attempt today. The electric squirrel whapped the target with his tail as he went by. He shot another way off to the side, right as he jumped to hit the final one with his tail.

They were going way too fast here. If what Kallisto said was right, this was just going to make it harder. Sure enough, it was the worst case scenario on round fourteen. The boy yelped. "At the corners! Shoot! Shoot!" He'd been doing a bit of practice in his spare time. If there was one good thing about his Pachirisu, it was his quickness. The squirrel turned and let out tiny electrical bursts four times. "WIDE!" Nori shouted and pointed, seeing one was not going to connect. Pachirisu was on it in an instant, rushing closer and letting out another jolt. This one did.

The jig was probably up. If these got there in time, they'd probably only have seconds to get the rest. But they had one trick, one chance to make it work! "Discharge! As hard as you can!"

The last blast did connect in time. Pachirisu was already in motion. He emitted a massive burst of electricity, arcing out on all directions. In a split second, a number of targets lit up and were almost instantly hit. Nori couldn't believe his luck. If they weren't as bunched together, that never would've worked! There was just one more left, and Pachirisu saw it. He jumped and became a blur. His Quick Attack! He slammed his whole body into the target, falling down panting after impact, as all the lights went green.

The Gym Leader dropped the remote, dumbfounded. Kallisto laughed and started to applaud, a gesture the other three followed suit in. Volkner said nothing for the longest time, giving Nori a chance to check on his Pokemon. Pachirisu had been given basic training like most of the Gym's Pokemon. The rest had to be potential and Nori having done something right with his own training. Whatever it was.

Volkner had followed behind. "That's the first time I've seen someone win that with brute force," he muttered. The blond man was unhappy, yet unsure how he should be expressing it.

Nori sighed. He knew why. "I know it's supposed to be a patient timing thing too." He'd went all out when he wasn't supposed to, and with a bit of luck, managed to win.

"So you get you did it the wrong way."

"I'm sick of this. I don't want to do it again." He'd been doing this for several weeks now. He was tired of failing all the time. 

Volkner considered this request. Nori just threw it out there. If you don't ask, you don't get, after all. The blond man spoke. "You understand that you can't always attack directly in a battle?"

Was that the point of this? "Yes," he said. It wasn't untrue, he understood that now that he was told that.

"Then we'll move on from this." Nori breathed a heavy sigh of relief at this. Finally, no more stupid target test! He gave his Pokemon a tight hug in thanks. "There's a lot more you need to learn, anyway. We'll move on to practice battles next week. I also want to start you on physical activity soon."

"No problem!" Nori declared. "I'm good in P.E.!" He was never a top athlete like some of his peers were, but he always did very well. Whenever he went to play soccer in the fields, he was always one of the first picked after the captains' friends.

"Good," the Gym Leader said. He waved Nori off.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 9th, 2015_

The weekend passed without incident. The Gym Trainers thankfully gave Nori his space, and even respect. The most he had to do was watch a few of them fight some challengers. He spent most of his spare time doing some reading of his law books. The boy was looking forward to school on Monday, to hopefully sort things out with Lux.

The purple-haired boy was at school. But every time Nori would look over to Lux to speak during class, Lux would look away or ignore him, if Mrs. DeWood didn't interrupt. At recess, Lux cleared out before Nori could talk. He did the same thing at lunch, but Nori knew where to find him.

"Hey, Nori!"

He turned to see Jamie looking at him as he was about to leave the classroom. The redheaded girl smiled.

"Do you want to hang out?" she asked, holding out her hand.

This was poor timing. Nori had to shake his head. "Maybe next time. Have to take care of something."

Thankfully, she nodded and let him get on his way. He had to clear this up, as soon as possible. Sure enough, Lux was eating alone at the end of a quiet hallway. The two kindergarten classes and a councilor's office were the only things of interest here; few students came down this way. He'd actually seen Lux here before they became friends, when he was exploring the school. He'd also had lunch with Lux numerous times here after becoming friends.

"Lux."

The purple-haired boy snapped to attention. For a second it looked like he wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. "Nori, I–"

Nori softened his tone, taking a seat next to him. "Lux, what happened? Why are you avoiding me?"

Lux looked away. He sighed. "Mom and dad had a big fight about you. They were yelling really loud. Mom told dad to leave. She let him back the next day, but..."

"But what? Did your dad take her side?"

"No," he shook his head. "He told me after it's okay, but mom said when she drove me here not to hang out with you."

Nori winced. This was worse than he thought. One parent trying to overrule the other. Lux was feeling bad about making them fight, caught in the middle of things. He asked the obvious question. "So what will you do?"

His friend frowned. "We probably shouldn't. Mom doesn't–"

"Screw her!" Nori shouted, hopping to his feet. "And yes, I'm insulting your mom. She deserves it! Who cares what she wants you to do? What do YOU want to do, Lux?"

Lux was looking down, but Nori's audacity got him to laugh a bit. "I...still want to be friends."

"Good! Because so do I!" Nori offered a hand to his friend. After some hesitation, Lux took it and stood. They were going to spend lunch hour together, whether his stupid mom liked it or not. "Let's go find a place to eat!"

"Well..." The other boy looked down at his bag. "Can we stay here and eat? Like usual?"

"Oh, uh, right." Whoops. He'd gotten so worked up, he'd forgotten Lux would probably want to eat here. As they sat back down, the boy grumbled. "So wish I was a real official already so I could threaten her for child abuse. I don't know if it actually is, but it's wrong as hell!" Nori slammed a fist into his palm. "Even the guys at the Gym were pissed about it!"

His friendly gently nodded. "I don't think we'll be able to hang out after school anymore. We shouldn't even let mom know we're still friends."

"I know," Nori agreed, but not for the reason Lux may have initially thought. "I won't be able to stop myself from giving her a piece of my mind if I see her again." If he went off on her, they really wouldn't ever be able to be friends again, no matter how much she deserved it.

\---

As school was coming to the end that day, Mrs. DeWood stood in front calling for attention.

"I have an announcement to make before we leave today, class," she said. "Our year-end field trip will be to Tonsen Land, and it will be on the 17th to the 19th. Make sure you pick up your permission slips on the way out."

A field trip? General excitement began to pervade the air, including from Lux. Nori smiled. It was good to see his friend feeling genuinely upbeat, especially given what had happened. However, from a groan behind him, it appeared that not everyone was happy about this.

Nori turned back to Jamie. "What's wrong?"

The redheaded girl sighed. "My dad doesn't want me going."

Oh. No wonder she was feeling deflated. Almost her friends and classmates were certainly getting the chance to go to this amusement park or whatever, and she wasn't. He had to go through that once, where he was the only kid not invited to Tarou Daikoka's birthday party. It led to him meeting Maylene, but it wasn't pleasant besides that. "Well, I'm sure you'll be fine," he tried to assure her.

"But it'll be boring sitting here studying instead of having fun," That was true. He was actually given free time around the school when it happened to him, but they apparently did things differently here. "Are you going?" she asked.

"I guess?" It was something the rest of the class had been anticipating, but he'd only heard about it just now. "I don't know if the Gym Leader will let me since I'd be skipping training, but we'll see."

Jamie smiled enticingly. "Well, if he doesn't–"

"Yeah, I know." She didn't have to get him flustered again. But if he wasn't allowed, well. At least he wouldn't be the one weird kid sitting alone because he didn't get to come. 

The girl giggled. "Thanks!"

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 10th, 2015_

The next day at school, Nori noticed his friend was unusually down. He tried to ask Lux why on recess, but was rebuffed. Lux said, "it's nothing, never mind," to which Nori insisted it must have been something. His reply was that he didn't want to talk about it.

When they went to their corner of the school for lunch that day, Nori decided to give it another shot. "Hey, now that it's just us, want to talk about it?"

He figured the reason his friend was quiet was that it was a subject he didn't want anyone else overhearing. Lux turned away at first. Nori leaned in close with concern, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. Lux gently returned the gesture for a second, before allowing his arm to drop with a sigh.

"Mom and dad had another fight..." he explained. "It's all my fault."

Nori tilted his head. "Uh, how's it your fault?"

"It was about the permission slip. I've been looking forward to this for months, and now..." He trailed off.

"So can you go?"

Lux buried his face in his hands. "I don't know," he despaired. "I don't even know why mom doesn't want me going. They were yelling at each other. I..." He briefly paused, starting to tear up. "I started crying. She just yelled at me and told me to smarten up."

The chestnut-haired boy sneered. "What the hell?! What kind of mom does that?!"

Lux quickly waved this off. "Never mind," he said, voice breaking. "We can't do anything about it...just, I shouldn't have brought it up and worried you, sorry."

Nori groaned. Unfortunately, true. If he could do anything about it, he'd do it in a heartbeat! But he wasn't sure if he could. He wasn't even sure if Lux's mom really was doing anything illegal. Yet there was one thing he could do to help his friend.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't know if I can go, either." That got Lux's attention. He slowly looked up, inquisitively. "All Volkner said is he'd think about it."

Lux hummed, gaze again falling. "Hey, I'll stay if you're staying! I don't have to go even if he says yes." He meant this. He didn't know anything about this trip, and truth be told, he didn't really want to go when he didn't really know anyone else. Yet even the boisterous reassurance failed to improve his friend's mood. "What is it?" he asked. Was there something else?

"But, Jamie..." Lux trailed off.

That? "Oh, well." Nori ruffled his hair. "I did say those things, but if it's between you and her, I'd pick you. She's nice, but you're way more important to me." He patted his friend on the shoulder. "So don't worry. You're my best friend, and I'm not going to just ignore you over anything."

"Nori..." Lux quivered in relief. He wiped a happy tear from his eye before hugging Nori tightly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He returned the hug. Nori was hoping pressing the subject would turn out this way. His friend remained melancholy, but he had managed to make Lux feel better. It was something that truly mattered to him.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 11th, 2015_

The afternoon of the 11th, Nori was brought to the battlefield. The past two days, he had been mixing sparring with Gym Pokemon in with watching the Gym Trainers battle opponents. One time he was even called upon to fight a rookie trainer with his Pachirisu. This was one of the only chances he had to get him some real training. The squirrel needed it, and there were few viable opponents to get practical experience against. The Gym Trainers were too strong, and the Gym Pokemon hardly helped.

Instead of anything involving Pokemon however, he was asked to stand against the long wall of the arena with the Gym Trainers. The Gym had been temporarily closed to challengers for whatever this was. "So what's this?" he asked. "Why are we all lined up?"

"Beep test." Nori rubbed his hair in confusion. What in the world was a beep test? Volkner just looked exasperated. Was he supposed to know? "Kallisto, can you?"

"Sure," said the orange and pink haired teenager. "It's a school gym class thing, mostly from junior high. There'll be a beep, and you need to get to the other wall before the next one. There's multiple levels, it gets faster as it goes along. Mess up twice in the same level, and you're out."

"Hey, hold on!" Ollie protested. He was in jeans and a long shirt, hardly the best attire for physical activity. The others were dressed adequately, Kallisto most of all with gym shorts and a tank top. Nori was by incident - a shirt and sweatpants. "Why do we need to do this?"

Eddie prodded him in the gut. "Because you need the exercise, fatass."

Tono and Eddie laughed, Kallisto shaking his head yet smiling lightly. Nori even saw Volkner himself suppressing a snicker. The boy just pressed a palm to his forehead. Even if Ollie was a jerk who was unhealthy, that was uncalled for.

The large teenager growled, and stomped over to him. "Grrr, this is all your fault!"

"How is it my fault?" He wasn't surprised Ollie was blaming him, but wanted to hear his excuse.

"If you hadn't come here, I wouldn't have to do this! None of us would! I–"

"Just do it," Volkner said, mercifully quashing the incident before it got any further. "This is training for the rest of you too. A healthy body houses a healthy mind."

"It'll be fine, Gooch. Just try your best." Kallisto nodded at him.

"Whatever." He stomped back into position. Ollie didn't like this, but knew there was no way out. In other words, how Nori felt about a lot of things.

Volkner got out a remote. "Starting in three, two, one..."

\---

This was about endurance, not speed.

Nori recognized that right away. He paced himself early on. The beep test came in multiple rounds, just like the target test from before. Ollie was panting heavily by the third, giving up and collapsing during the fourth. Tono lasted until the sixth before running out of breath.

‘ROUND NINE’ a robotic sounding voice boomed. Nori wasn't measuring in his head how long he had to get back and forth. He was just focused on keeping pace with the others.

"Heh." A couple laps into this, he heard one of the others speak. He shifted his gaze to look at Eddie. The dark-skinned teen was grinning, or gritting his teeth. "You're goin' down, kid..."

Nori didn't reply, Better to save his breath. He reached out and touched the opposite wall. Eddie was just short, the beep chiming a split second before he got there. Annoyed, he took off, getting just ahead of Nori and Kallisto. He reached the next wall a half second ahead of them, a full second more than he needed. He took a moment too long to catch his breath. He just barely made it on the run back.

The chestnut-haired boy spared him a glance and smirk. Eddie scowled and began matching his pace. They were both just behind Kallisto. Nori bounded towards the wall. Eddie reached out...

‘ROUND TEN’

"What the fuck?!" That was it, Eddie was out!

"Hah!" Nori huffed, waving his adversary to the side. Great, just him and Kallisto! His chest was starting to hurt a bit, but nothing he couldn't push through! He picked up his pace. At times he was falling behind Kallisto. At others he was matching him stride for stride. He didn't mess up once throughout this level.

‘ROUND ELEVEN’ went the voice. How many of these were there? Twelve? Fifteen? He couldn't worry about that now, he had to keep running! Even if he was falling behind Kallisto.

The beep went off half a second before he reached the wall. Nori started to run as fast as he could, not even caring about endurance at this point. He got there just in time. He pushed off the wall, making the next beep by a fingertip.

His lungs were burning. His legs felt like they wanted to fall off. Yet he was determined to make it to the next round! So Nori ran. He got to the edge in enough time, and kept going. There were eight beeps a round. He just had to hold out a bit more! He made it to the wall again with no time to spare. Nori shoved off like an expert. He was still behind Kallisto somehow! He tried to push himself, but his legs were starting to feel like stone, refusing to obey him.

Then, it happened. The beep that spelled his end. He was just millimeters away. He clutched onto the wall in frustration, slamming a fist into it.

"HA!" Eddie sharply laughed, compounding it with a point. "Loser!"

Nori turned. He had some energy left, but his mood was such that all he could do was shuffle out of Kallisto's way and watch him.

To his shock, he wasn't even straining! The muscular teen continued, handling what remained of round eleven up through round fourteen as if it were nothing. The test ended there. Kallisto threw up his arms in celebration.

Nori slumped to the floor as the Gym Trainers celebrated their compatriot's victory. He did his best there! He went all out at the end, and it still wasn't good enough! He was expecting to at least get to round twelve before burning out, but he couldn't even do that much!

Kallisto approached him. "Hey, don't feel too down about it Carino. I work out regularly. You did good. You even beat Eddie." He extended a hand to help him up, which Nori reluctantly accepted.

"How are you not tired?" Nori asked. He had to have some sort of secret.

"I am," he clarified. Nori just groaned. If Kallisto was tired, he wasn't showing it. "More used to it than you, I guess. Other thing is I'm taller than you. Longer legs means you can go faster. I'm sure you'll grow into that yourself some day."

That was true. If he was a dedicated athlete...in addition to being a great trainer, well, he couldn't match that. Plus come to think of it, this was his first real strenuous bit of physical activity in a while. He hadn't had much chance to get real exercise between the season and being locked up in the Gym all the time. And the workout equipment only went so far.

"Guess...I'll just have to practice." That was the only way to get better at this, and keep his stamina up.

"That's the spirit." Kallisto clapped him on the back.

Volkner approached. "We'll do these periodically. Rest for now and watch Gym battles if there are any." Nori sighed, thankful for that one.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 12th, 2015_

To contrast two days ago, when Nori went to school, his friend was positively over the moon. The purple-haired boy didn't even wait until class had started to run up, beaming ear to ear. "Nori!" he squealed. "I can go!"

Nori did a small fist-pump. "That's great news!"

\---

At recess, they were able to talk about the specifics. "So what made your mom change her mind?" Nori asked.

"It was my dad," his friend explained. "Mom was just worried about me, that's all. About bullying and bad influences."

"Bad influences, like me?" Nori playfully inquired.

"Yeah." Lux chuckled softly. "But dad said that if she didn't let me go, I'd be bullied anyway, for being that kid whose mom controls him. She didn't seem too happy about it, but she agreed."

"Well, however it happened!" Nori threw up his arms with irreverence. So it was about image, somehow? Well, the important thing was, Lux could go! It reminded him of something, too. "My ma was kind of like that. She didn't trust others with me. Like one time, she took me along on a trip she won."

The wonder in his mind.

The excitement of exploring.

The fun of ______ .

The ______ of trying to find his ma.

The ______ of ______.

The wind hitting his body.

"Nori?"

He blinked. "Oh, just, yeah," he dismissed, shaking some bad memories off. "Well, she did things like that, and like once, really wanted me to be a trainer. But she never restricted me, like your mom does."

"I see." Lux nodded, then smiled. "So can you go?"

"Still no answer," the boy sighed. "I haven't gotten a chance to ask, either."

To this, his friend's excitement waned. He didn't deflate entirely, yet the disappointment was etched into his lips. And why wouldn't it be? True, he would get to spend time at wherever it was they were going. But being able to go with Nori would make it a lot better. Plus his mom was right about something. Lux would have to put up with Spike being there, but if he was with him, it'd be way easier.

"Actually, I'm kinda hoping he says yes." Nori pressed his index fingers together. "Not just because I'd get to go with you, but because I want to get away from the guys at the Gym for a bit."

To this, Lux reacted with modest surprise. "The guys at the Gym?" he repeated. There was just the tiniest shred of doubt as he asked, "Even Kallisto?"

"Besides him," Nori clarified. "But it's the others. Not even Kallisto can rein them in. And sometimes...Volkner gets in on it too."

"Oh..." Lux considered this for several long moments. "Um, can Kallisto help? With the permission slip, I mean?"

"Maybe?" He hadn't thought to ask. He was sure the head Gym Trainer would be willing to stick up for him if Volkner said no. "Well, we'll see if it comes to that. Thanks for the suggestion."

His friend lightly beamed. "You're welcome, Nori."

\---

Late in the afternoon, Nori again found himself on the battlefield during a moment where battles were closed to the Gym. This time, he was where one would traditionally be on it, opposite Tono.

"So..." Nori started. "Is this going to be another practice battle?" These had been formulaic. Whenever he fought Kallisto he'd just be destroyed. If it was the others, he'd win if Nidorina was involved, but Pachirisu would always go down. Being a new Pokemon earned the squirrel no quarter from the others. He felt bad having to put his Pokemon through that. Even when he won with the former Demon, he earned no favor from Volkner.

"No," Volkner said. He was standing on the side of the battlefield. "This is a special battle. It has a two minute time limit. You earn points based off hitting moves. Contact moves give three points. Ranged moves give two. Wide area moves like Surf and targeted-point moves like Earth Power give one, but avoiding them gives one. Counters and moves with near-perfect accuracy give nothing." Okay, good. He saw some girls play ‘one hit outs’ one time back at his old school. It was so stupid, seeing that one girl's Eevee just use Swift on that fire pig and win instantly. "If it's not over within two minutes, the winner is whoever has the most points."

Okay, that sounded easy enough. Nidorina seemed the obvious choice here. She was not only the stronger Pokemon, but her strength and speed could see him through this. Her melee combos could earn him a large number of points in quick succession.

He sent out the teal Pokemon, and was surprised at Tono's pick. It had four yellow wings with orange tips and markings, but Nori knew it was no Electric type. The bug's body was black with an orange stripe; the tips of its otherwise white antennae were also orange. "What's with the Mothim?" he asked.

Tono harrumphed. "You have seen Volkner's Octillery and Ambipom, have you not? It is folly for even a type expert to focus on a single type. Ollie." He briefly glanced at the chubby trainer, who didn't react. "Furthermore, we Gym Trainers are not bound by what we personally train."

He expected it'd have some sort of Electric attack, though. Still, a surface to air battle? Nidorina had won those easily in the past, but those were against weak trainers and wild Pokemon. And not in a setting where you were rewarded for playing keep away.

Well, there was nothing to do but do it! All he had to do was have her strike hard and fast before they could do that!

"Ready? Begin." Volkner waved his arms.

Nori gave a simple command: "Go."

"Mothula, fly up!" Not wasting any time, huh?

The former Demon was far too fast. The moth Pokemon was on his way to the ceiling when the teal beast jumped and swatted him out of the air with her front left paw. Before he could react further, she followed through with a swipe from the right, sending the bug type reeling.

"Nidorina, six points."

"Good. Don't let up. Crunch."

"Aerial Ace, Mothula!" The moth snapped up. His antennae began to glow, and he slashed them vertically to strike Nidorina with unnatural precision. She winced just enough that they were able to get off the next move. "Now, Electroweb!" There it was, that was the Electric move. The Mothim spat a glowing golden silk from its mouth, with expanded into a web-shape.

"Mothim, two points." Right, the first attack was one of those moves that always hit unless guarded against.

Nidorina kept lunging, but her movements seemed slower than usual. Tono continued, "Fly over with a Poison Powder!" She was slow enough to actually whiff her lunge. But they wouldn't have to worry about that move. Even she knew not to bother.

"Mothim, four points."

"What? That counted?!" It was ineffective!

"Now, Psybeam," commanded Tono. His Pokemon was trying to turn around, and managed to jump in closer to avoid it. "Again!" This time, she wasn't as lucky. The moth Pokemon corrected his aim and managed to land a hit.

"Mothim, six points." Ugh, he was rubbing it in. Just like that, they were tied.

"Just, hit!" Nori urged. They had to even the score!

"Fly up, Mothula!" What looked to be a repeat of the opening moves played out. Except this time, Nidorina's claw swipe just missed. Was her speed lowered?

Tono chuckled. "Unleash Air Slashes, Mothula!"

Okay, so they were playing that game. Ugh. Well, there went any chance of victory. But they could still tie, as long as they kept dodging. "Nidorina–" He looked and saw his Pokemon was already on it. "Yeah. Just keep that up." Forty seconds left. They just had to hold out until then. They were all missing.

Until one did! It just caught her! "Mothim, eight points."

"Damn it!" Nori cursed. "Nidorina, climb the pillars!"

That elicited gasps from everyone. That had to sound completely insane on paper, but Nori knew his Pokemon. She could do this! Nori heard a ‘holy fuck’ come out of Eddie as his Pokemon started scaling vertically by using her claws. Could they get up and attack in enough time, though? They were like eight meters tall. But this was their only chance! She was climbing fast. If they could get up and tackle it down–

"Aerial Ace!"

No, not that! Mothula swooped down. Nidorina saw it coming and readied a swipe. Yes, actually that! She swung...and the two attacks clanged off!

Nori looked over at Volkner. Did that count?! He shook his head. He looked back at his Pokemon and saw her fumbling. The former Demon slammed a claw back in, yet was sliding down.

"Now, your double beam combo!" The moth hovered close. His eyes and antennae began to glow different colors. He fired these off in the form of two beams - one Psybeam and one Signal Beam - which fused into one. Nidorina had no way to avoid it short of just dropping down. She instead braced herself, barely hanging on. Their opponent was close enough to punish after!

"Mothim, twelve points. Tono wins." But it was over already. And that counted as two attacks?!

This didn't stop his Pokemon from jumping off and tackling her opponent to the ground. She was moderately injured, but that was hardly stopping her. As frustrated as he was with the battle to allow that, Nori's better judgment took over. He got out her Great Ball and recalled her after a few seconds of letting her vent.

"Defeating the Demon," Tono said, momentarily ignoring that his Pokemon had actually been knocked out by that. He took a black and gold notepad out of his pocket. "That's one for my glory book."

The Gym Leader crossed his arms. To Nori's surprise, he was the first to address him after the battle, rather than any of the Gym Trainers taunting him. "I'm very disappointed, Nori." Volkner said. The Gym Leader only ever called him by name when he was upset. "I was expecting you to do far better."

"Come on! That was just cheap! I could barely do anything once that stupid Mothim had the points edge!"

"In battle, you need to fight to your fullest. This means doing whatever it takes to win, within reason," the Gym Leader explained. "When and if you become an official, you are going to be working with a lot of Pokemon. A lot of these Pokemon sent to be under your care are going to be violent and battle hungry. If you do not understand how to battle properly, you are going to run into trouble when trying to train them. Constantly." Well, yes! That was obvious! He got by with the Demon, but that was due to circumstance and having some common ground! "I expected you would think about this properly. Not only that, you have been doing poorly in all your battles so far."

"How?! How am I supposed to do better when I don't know how?!" What was wrong with how he was battling? He was winning plenty! "And what did I do wrong here?!" He hated when people were vague, and this repeated vagueness was starting to get to him.

"Really?" Kallisto had thus far been the only one in the Gym to be supportive and helpful at all times. Yet at this, even he was frustrated. Nori had to wonder, was he actually terrible at this battling thing? "You don't understand why you lost?" the fit teen asked.

"Because his stupid bug could just hide up there, and my Pokemon couldn't do anything about it." It hit him like a Future Sight attack. "Wait, are you saying Nidorina should learn a ranged attack?"

Kallisto raised a finger. "Bingo."

"Or, better still," spoke the Gym Leader. "You should have prepared for the possibility that your opponent would try an evasive tactic, and chosen to use Pachirisu instead."

"Then I would've just lost outright!" Nori protested. He ruled the squirrel out for that reason. It made sense! "So how do I teach Nidorina those moves?!" the boy asked, starting to feel frustrated himself. "She knew Poison Sting, but I focused on other moves because it was so telegraphed and weak!"

The Gym Leader grumbled and stormed off, leaving the whole situation behind him. Nori could hear the word, "hopeless" under the man's breath.

The boy sighed. So much for asking him about the permission slip. He looked over at Tono, who had been silent since his victory. It was more annoying than any boasting. "Don't blame me." The bespectacled teen shrugged at his glare.

Ollie laughed. "Yeah, blame yourself or the gods!"

"You're not helping, you know," Kallisto chimed in. Even Eddie glared at Ollie. Nori followed in suit. This stupidness wasn't totally his fault, nor did he think there was any deity or deities to blame here.

"But I must admit, I thought that proper choice of Pokemon would be obvious to even you," Tono said. "I was prepared to battle your Pachirisu. I had to adjust my strategy for that."

"Yeah? So then why'd you choose a flying bug, then? It'd be weak to Electric moves."

Tono chuckled. "If you have thought of that, you should be able to figure out why I choose Mothula."

"Okay, so he can counter Electric types. That still meant Nidorina wasn't a wrong choice."

"Yes, but you made the wrong choices in the battle." Tono smirked. "I was not going to hold back by not using my Pokemon's aerial advantage. If I had done so, I would have been the one being chewed out."

Nori sighed. He couldn't argue with that. "Stupid Volkner. Stupid ranged attack conundrum,"

"Nidorina can learn a couple Electric moves, so I'll see what I can do for you," Kallisto offered. Nori's eyes went wide with surprise. He was going to help him? And he offered without being asked? "As for Volkner, that's just his way of trying to push you."

"Well, it's not helping! What kind of stupid moron tries to encourage someone by insulting them? It's starting to piss me off!" He almost wanted to throw up his arms and stop caring about this.

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Quit your bitching, kid. Ain't gonna get you nowhere. Shut the fuck up and shut him up."

Nori grumbled. Eddie said it in the most insulting way possible, but he couldn't deny the truth behind it. "So what should I do? Where should I start improving...whatever he wants me to? What does he want me to improve on?"

The four exchanged glances. "Who fuckin' knows?" Eddie said. "It's probably some philosophical shit with him."

Kallisto nodded. "As long as you do well, he'll give you a pass."

That was easy for them to say. He may have had a very strong Pokemon, but he was still a new trainer. A very atypical one from the seems of it, too. Nori was getting the impression he went so far against the grain that he'd have to completely rethink things to get Volkner's full approval. He normally wouldn't change himself that much for anyone else, but he might have to. And that possibility bothered him.


	7. February of Progression (third part)

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 13th, 2015_

That Friday, West Sunyshore Elementary celebrated Valentines Day. Everyone's desk was labeled with their name, and had bags attached for cards. This was a mild surprise to Nori. He was familiar with this tradition, but hadn't done it since third grade. What's more, it was a school-wide event, rather than class specific. He saw kids going in and out of classrooms that didn't belong to them during recess and lunch.

Instead of wandering around the school as they sometimes did, Nori and Lux spent all of lunch hour together in the kindergarten hall, talking about stuff and just relaxing. Nori appreciated the peace and quiet. It was nice to have it sometimes, just to clear your thoughts. The only time he had it during the day was here at school.

As the bell rang, he suddenly had a piece of paper thrust into his hands. "Here. It's for you," Lux quickly spoke.

A card? "Oh, thanks."

"Sorry if it's...weird."

"Why would it be?"

"Because we're both boys."

"What's wrong with friends giving each other cards?"

The purple-haired boy shuffled his feet. "I don't know, but, you know..."

"People getting the wrong idea?"

Lux glanced away. "You're just...too good to me. I...didn't know how to say it, so I wrote it down."

Nori unfurled the paper. It was titled Nori Carino at the top, and was signed Lux Blomgren in elegant handwriting at the bottom. Colorful flowers, stars, and even a couple hearts were illustrated along the sides. The word ‘you're’ was written repeatedly down the rest of the page, with various words and phrases following it.

_You're important to me.  
You're strong-willed.  
You're brave.  
You're elegant.  
You're unflappable.  
You're my protector.  
You're irreplaceable.  
You're the world to me.  
You're my best friend.  
You're the best._

"Thank you," Nori said, a warmth in his chest. "Yours is already in your bag."

"Um, thanks."

Lux held open his arms. Nori glanced around. Seeing no one, he embraced his friend tightly. They hugged for several long seconds. The purple-haired boy sighed contentedly.

"Though that said, people will think it's weird and get the wrong idea if they see us doing this." Nori never minded. He'd be lying if he said it didn't feel good to hug Lux. But hugging was more of a girls thing. Maybe that was part of why Lux was seen as girly by their peers. "Plus, we should get back to class."

"I know..." Lux broke it off, seemingly with reluctance. They had only five minutes from the bell to make it back, and that had taken two or three of them. He didn't mind being late, but it'd mean a scolding from the teacher that he didn't want to subject Lux to. They hurried back to their classroom together.

\---

When they returned, Nori was met with a surprise. His Valentines card bag was stuffed full. He and Lux stared exchanged amazed, wordless glances with each other.

The boys' attention went to the clock high on the wall. They were just on time, yet the teacher was late. Well, Nori wasn't going to complain about this. But his next-seat neighbor voiced concerns. Not Lux or Jamie, but person to his right. He never had a chance to meet her. "Um, where's the teacher?" the girl in blue capris asked.

Most kids shrugged, Nori included. Spike, who was leaning against the whiteboard chatting with some other boys, looked up. "Heard she's in a meetin' with Mr. Tauch," he stated. That made sense. Teachers go to meetings all the time.

"Nori! Nori!"

On hearing his name called, Nori turned just in time to see a redheaded girl barreling towards him. He hopped to the side with a yelp, barely evading her. This did not deter her from sleeking up to him.

"I got your card!" Jamie said, leaning right into his personal space.

"I guess you liked it?" the boy asked, nervously chuckling. It wasn't much. Just like Lux, he handmade something at the Gym. It wasn't anything romantic, at least, he didn't try to be.

"I did! Thank you so much!" She moved close and kissed him below his left eye, almost on his lips. "And!" Jamie reached into her bag. "Here's yours!" she declared, proudly presenting him a card.

"Th-thank you?" The girl giggled as he took a step back to accept it. Nori briefly scanned his peers. Everyone was watching, and why wouldn't they be? Lux was stunned, dumbfounded, more than anyone else who was. Most were passively watching. A number of people, Spike included, were grinning profusely. He wasn't sure if they were approving, or internally laughing at how flustered he was right now. Or both.

Nori examined the card. Storebought. It had an illustration of a cartoony Cherrim with its leaves closed in a meadow, with the caption ‘When I'm with you, I don't need the sun...’ On the inside, the Pokemon was in full bloom, as well as finishing the statement: ‘...because you brighten up my world!’ It also had a poem from Jamie printed beneath.

_You're brave and sweet, and you're a fighter,  
Whenever we meet, my chest feels tighter,  
As if I'm a feather, I feel so lighter,  
And if we're together, my sun would shine brighter,_

_Love, Jamie Isabelle Nox_

The lowercase i had been dotted with a heart. "Well?" the girl asked, leaning in close. "What'd you think?"

Okay. Nori had to admit, that was pleasant to read. It was some pretty good poetry too, as far as he could tell anyway. "It's nice. I like it." 

Once again, Jamie got up close. "You're so cute and so awesome, Nori." She lightly reached out and put her arms around his waist. "I like you. Will you be my boyfriend?"

"Um, uh, maybe?" he stammered. The boy felt like he was about to burn away into nothing from sheer embarrassment right there on the spot.

Jamie moved her face closer, causing the boy to lightly tilt his head back. "Tomorrow's Valentine's Day. Do you want to go to the Wet Rock Diner with me?"

He looked out to the class. Everyone was waiting his answer with baited breath. Nori took a deep breath, a calm washing over him. If she was asking that...he had a clear answer. Maybe it would be seen as an excuse, but it was the truth.

"Well, I'd have to ask Volkner. He makes me train all day at the Gym most of the time. Even on weekends." At once, Jamie's arms dropped. "Yeah, I know," he followed up. "It's stupid and I hate it. I'm not saying no, I'm saying you should've asked me a couple days earlier."

The redheaded girl groaned, but it wasn't an unhappy one. "I guess it can't be helped. But, do you still want to go sometime?"

"W-well–"

The door to the classroom abruptly swung open. "Sorry, Mr. Tauch took longer to get going than I thought he would. Everyone sit down."

Mrs. DeWood was entering the room. Never before had Nori been so happy to see a teacher. Did Jamie really have to do this in front of the whole class?!

"We'll see," he told his admirer. He actually meant that. He wouldn't mind, but Nori honestly wasn't sure if Volkner would let him have any free time out of the Gym at all. He hadn't even gotten back to him on the permission slip, although he'd take any reason he could. "But tomorrow, I'll be stuck in the Gym." He nodded and, against his better judgment, added a wink. He didn't outright suggest she come by, yet brought it up as an indirect reminder.

It was thankfully enough for Jamie, who grinned and nodded as she took her seat. Nori internally breathed a sigh of relief as he sat down.

\---

As school ended, Nori and Lux walked through the halls together to the front doors. It was something they started doing since the incident, to hang out as much as they could. The whole time, Lux was looking down at his feet. This did not escape Nori's notice, and he asked, "Something wrong, Lux?" Right after saying that, he realized what it probably was. "Hey, I told you, didn't I?"

"I know. It's just..." Lux paused, considering something. "Well. About her. She really likes you..." He didn't have to say who he was talking about.

"Yeah." Nori rubbed the nape of his neck. The air was filled with the murmurs of students, but he spoke more quietly just to be sure. "I don't hate Jamie. But someone like her definitely wouldn't be my first choice. She's pretty smothering." His feelings towards her were complicated, to say the least.

"Mmm." The purple-haired boy nodded. "But, that's not what's bugging me." Lux figured out he was going to bring up Jamie based on his vague statement? Nori was impressed at that. That's what made them real friends, he supposed. Lux dismally explained his real issue, "I looked at some of my Valentines cards. Some were...really mean pranks. Others were, you know, just because. Yours is the only one that really meant it."

"Ugh, sorry. Any of them signed?"

"Not the mean ones..."

"So they're not completely stupid, but they are jerks." If any of them were stupid enough, he'd be more than happy to make them regret it.

"Thanks again, Nori," his friend said, picking up with a soft smile. "Your card really meant a lot."

"I'm glad you liked it." He put a bit more effort into it than he did with Jamie. Neither was as elaborate as what they gave him, just a simple handmade greeting with context.

They continued to walk along in silence, although something still seemed to be bothering Lux. His friend paused before the front doors, eyes cast down. "I wish I could spend more time with you..." he lamented.

"Yeah, same here." He shrugged and shook his head in irritation. "But as long as your mom's being a, you know, all the time we have together is at school."

"Well..." the purple-haired boy tentatively spoke up. "Will you be going on the trip?"

"Volkner still hasn't gotten back to me about it."

Lux again looked downward. "He has to soon."

"I know, I know." It was so hard to get a hold of the Gym Leader, plus he didn't want to ask too soon. Still, yes. The deadline was coming up. "I'll make sure to get him to answer on the weekend, no matter what."

"Okay..." Lux smiled slightly. He glanced outside. "I better not keep mom waiting."

"Yeah..." Suddenly, Nori felt a bit distraught. "Stupid..." he muttered. Why did Mrs. Stupid Blomgren have to be this way? He could hang out with any of his other friends when he wanted. Even Claris' parents had no problem with him, despite the social class difference. But not Lux's. What was her problem?!

Without warning, Lux reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. He gave it an assuring pat, almost half of a hug. The boy's unwitting sneer faded completely.

"See you Monday," said his friend, before leaving. Nori closed his eyes, thinking about all that happened today.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 14th, 2015_

Valentines Day didn't hold much meaning to Nori. Besides getting cards in school like he did yesterday, he ignored the holiday. It was for couples, and he'd never had anyone special like that in his life. He had chances, sure. But nothing came of them. Besides, if he did like someone, he'd show them that every day. He wouldn't bind doing anything special for them to an arbitrary calendar date, like you'd do with a birthday or Christmas.

When he went downstairs just after 10am, he was surprised to see all four Gym Trainers were present. He thought at least one of them wouldn't be here. "Hey, guys," he greeted. He was wary with them. "I uh," He knew asking this was going to get a negative response. But he wanted to say it. "Thought some of you would have dates?" He held back a snicker.

Tono scoffed. "It is not as though you have one, either."

"Well, I was asked out by a girl."

He grinned proudly. The four's eyes went wide at this. Exactly the reaction he'd hoped for. All of them were in shock or disbelief, even Kallisto. Eddie fired a glare. "You're full of shit, kid!"

"It's true."

"So why ain't you going, then?" the dark-skinned teen shot back.

"Well, I'd want to make sure Volkner is okay with it first." He didn't want to say yes, then find out no, and not be able to go. Or more specifically, go anyway and get in trouble for it. "I guess also, because I'm not sure if she's right for me."

Kallisto leaned back. "That second reason's why none of us have dates today."

Nori could only shake his head at this. Some of them seemed insanely popular. Then again, as he had been finding out, that wasn't always a good thing. Like with Jamie, it could be hard to tell the difference between those who genuinely like you and those who seemingly like you for some other reason. You just didn't know.

"It's probably a good idea for you not to have any long-term commitments here," the head Gym Trainer added after several moments.

"I guess. I don't know how long I'm going to be here." He wasn't ruling it out. But nothing could be worse than having to part ways with someone you _like_ like. Besides, he wouldn't just choose anyone. It'd have to be someone he'd known for a while who liked him for him. And ideally, someone he had a deep, special connection with. "I did get a lot of Valentines cards in school. Even a bunch from kids in lower grades."

The large teen let out a shrill, "Pft!" He dismissively waved a hand. "Only babies care about that. It's a kid thing!"

Nori gave Ollie an empty look. "Uh, I am technically one?" It was a kid thing, and he was a kid. It's not like he was some creepy adult doing it or anything. "Got like a dozen cards that seemed serious, too." He could say one thing about Jamie, she was clear and open with her affection.

"I got like twenty of those in my locker yesterday," said Kallisto. To this Nori could only sigh and look down.

"Of course you did."

"So popular you make the ladies act like little girls, huh?" Eddie noticed and peered at him. "Why you moping? You jealous Kallisto's more popular than you?"

It wasn't about that. Was there anything he was better at than any of these Gym Trainers? He was seemingly less everything than Kallisto. He wasn't as good at battles as Eddie, he wasn't as smart as Tono, and even Ollie was stronger-willed than him. He had to admit, Ollie never gave up for better or worse. "Never mind."

Instead of dropping the subject, Eddie chose to push further. "Worried you gonna get smoked in the popularity poll?"

Nori craned his head. "What popularity poll?"

"Just a fun thing we do every year around this time," Kallisto said. "We hold a vote on the Gym's website for most attractive guy in the Gym." He looked over at the bespectacled boy. "Tono runs it."

"He runs the Gym's website?" Nori didn't even know the Gym had a website. Then again, he hardly knew the internet, either. He only used it in school, and it was really restricted there.

"We all pitch in a bit to help run the Gym," Kallisto explained. "Tono helps with electronics and the site, I help with publicity, Eddie takes after and catches some of the Gym Pokemon, and Ollie's family is a sponsor of ours. Supplies us with those sandwiches you like."

Nori blinked. "You look after all the Pokemon?" he asked Eddie.

He casually replied, "Yeah, it's mainly me. What about it?"

"Nothing. You just don't look the type." To this Eddie shrugged. Someone had been leaving food out for them all. Eddie was the last person he expected to be doing that, though. Nori eyed Tono. "So how do I know you're not rigging anything?"

"You insult me!" Tono yelled. "There is nothing more sacred to me than a fair vote. Every IP address is recorded! Votes from dynamic addresses are filtered. Votes by proxies anonymous or otherwise are rejected. If votestuffing is suspected, the system–"

"All right, all right, jeez!" Nori couldn't understand any of the technobabble. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"Good! I am glad you understand!" He adjusted his glasses. "The results will be in at the end of the day. Look forward to them."

\---

The day went by as usual at the Gym, just with a few added oddities thanks to the day. At least two girls came in to confess to Kallisto. He told them both they were nice, but didn't want to commit to someone he didn't know. One couple came in wanting to challenge the Gym together. They were turned down and told they'd have to qualify separately. Nori was half-expecting Jamie to show up, but she didn't. It was a little disappointing. Was she not able to come, or was she not as interested as she was showing outwardly?

After closing time, the guys gathered around Tono near the stairwell as he checked the final tally on his laptop. Nori was surprised Volkner was here too. His name was on the ballot, but he didn't think the Gym Leader cared enough to be present.

"All right, here are the results. In first place is, of course, Kallisto with 7182, with an impressive 62.13% of the vote. And of course, Ollie is in last, only receiving 32." The large teen growled, but Tono cut him off. "Don't gripe, this is the most you've gotten. You would get more if you were more pleasant and looked after yourself better."

He continued on. "I got 486 votes." He nodded to himself in satisfaction. "Volkner, you're next with 1093." The Gym Leader didn't react to this, one way or another. "Eddie, you got 1117. And Nori got 1649."

"Wait, what the FUCK?" Eddie shoved to the front. Nori leaned in to see the screen better. Sure enough, there it was. People considered him the second most attractive guy in the Gym, by far. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. "That is bullshit! Why the fuck'd you even add him there?"

Tono glared. "It was your idea, _Edward_."

"Shit, damn!" Wait, what? This was all something to try to humiliate him more? And it backfired? Eddie scowled and pointed a finger at him. "You think you're hot stuff, pretty boy, but I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face!"

He wasn't actually smirking. And pretty boy?! "If it's a fistfight you want–"

"Hell no." He gestured to the door. "Battlefield. Now."

"This is stupid."

"Nori," Volkner scolded. "A trainer is expected to accept all challenges that come his or her way."

"I know, and I'm not backing down." He never would from a challenge. "I just wanted to say this is a stupid reason for wanting to battle." Do all trainers battle for petty reasons like this?

Kallisto sighed. "Sorry, Carino." Even Ollie seemed to be uncomfortable at this, which was saying something given that he'd previously made a challenge on ridiculous grounds.

\---

The match turned out to be more foregone than expected.

His Pachirisu was easily dominated by Eddie's Lickitung. It handled every attack they threw at it before finishing his Pokemon with Hydro Pump of all moves. It just spat a blast of saliva or something! The long tongued Pokemon also held its ground against Nidorina for a while, until she eventually grabbed it by the tongue and slammed it into the ground. His command of Skull Bash right to the mouth ended that one.

Nidorina against Magneton had been going on for a few minutes now. Compared to last time, it wasn't going so well. Eddie was fighting much more conservatively, having Magneton escape whenever they got a combo going. Both Pokemon were in bad shape, and Magneton had just used Lock-On. Nori knew what was coming next. "Only a matter of time now!" shouted Eddie. "You're toast, kid!"

Nori kept his composure. What was with people getting really fired up in battles, anyway? It was fun, but could also make you look ridiculous. "Guess we'll have to win before that," he said plainly. "All or nothing. Bring it down with Crunch."

"You dumbass! Higher up, Magneton!" What he failed to account for was Nidorina anticipating this and going for one of the pillars instead. She jumped onto and off it in one ninja-like motion, catching one of the bodies in its mouth and throwing it to the ground.

"Finish it off." She was already on it, kicking away.

"Too late! ZAP CANNON!"

The worst case scenario. The magnets managed to focus just long enough to launch the attack. It didn't even need to have locked on with how close they were. Nidorina heard and tried to duck behind the pillar, but was just struck from behind.

The teal Pokemon strained. Her muscles were stiffening too much. In one spiteful motion she lunged and swung a claw, getting in one last swipe before she fell. She was still conscious, yet unable to do more than glare at her opponent.

It wasn't enough. Magneton hovered a few centimeters off the ground. It was the victor, even if it didn't look like it. They'd lost again. He and Nidorina had lost again, and not even to Kallisto.

"Eat shit!" Eddie roared in victory. "You're pathetic, kid. Can't beat me with your super tough Pokemon? She's wasted on you!"

His still-conscious Pokemon weakly barked at their foe. Nori had picked up on a few consistencies in her vocalizations. That was something akin to ‘Fuck you.’

Eddie continued to talk trash that Nori tuned out. As for the others, Kallisto watched on with concern. Tono shook his head in disappointment; Volkner too, did not look pleased. Ollie seemed indifferent to the whole thing, besides mild bemusement.

"I hope you're happy," he said as he recalled the Demon. He flipped Eddie the bird before leaving to get his Pokemon treated.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 15th, 2015_

The exercise room in the Gym had a variety of equipment that its trainers could use to keep themselves in shape. Among them were weights of various kinds, a treadmill, an exercise bike, and various other contraptions Nori couldn't identify. It also had a few punching bags. Nori relieved a bit of stress by taking a few swings at them while imagining he was punching Eddie and Ollie.

He had been periodically coming here since the beep test the other day, as long as Eddie wasn't using it. He didn't mind if Kallisto or anyone else was there, but at the moment he was running on the treadmill, alone in the room aside from Pachirisu. It was a good way to unwind, clear his mind, and get a workout. It didn't compare to running around in the outdoors; in fact, neither did running around the battlefield, the rare times he was able to anyway. Yet it was the best he could do.

He'd been at it for about five minutes when Pachirisu suddenly jumped atop the front of the machine. "Yes?" he asked, not missing a step. The squirrel looked down at his feet, curiously. Jumping off to his left, Pachirisu ran in place. "You want to give it a try?" His Pokemon rapidly nodded, flashing his teeth in glee.

The boy hopped off to the right. He was about to reach out and turn the treadmill down when Pachirisu instantly got on. Just as quick, it nearly flew off the machine. The squirrel took a few futile and frantic steps before using Quick Attack, darting off anyway albeit in the opposite direction. He comically crashed into the wall behind the treadmill, his tail flopping onto his body.

Nori laughed. A genuine one. He hadn't been having enough of those lately. He switched the machine off and walked over to his Pokemon. "You need to get the right pace," he advised, helping it off the ground. "You can't run too slow or you'll fall off. But you can't run too fast, either. Plus, don't jump on right away."

The squirrel's tail drooped. "Hey, how about this?" the boy said. "Next time I go for a run with Nidorina, you can come too." He used to do that all the time in Veilstone; just send out the former Demon as he went around exploring and dash around with her. At the very least, he planned to do some laps around the Gym when he could. His Pokemon clapped in glee, happy at the suggestion.

"AHHHH!!"

They were interrupted by a scream and a thud. Pachirisu worriedly looked about. Nori took off out of the room, his Pokemon following behind after a moment. It came from close by. The boy threw open the door to the training room. There was no one inside but a couple of Gym Pokemon. He continued to the trainer's lounge, where he came upon the source.

Kallisto was on the floor in front of the couch in a daze. A blue and white blanket was awkwardly draped over him.

"What happened?!" Nori asked. He'd been taking a nap in here. Did he roll off in his sleep? "Are you okay?"

"I..." Kallisto sat up, pressing a hand to his forehead. "I'm fine, just a nightmare."

"Oh..."

The orange and pink haired teen awkwardly stood, turning away in shame. "Sorry you had to see me like this."

Nori put his hands behind his back. "What's there to be sorry about?" 

This got Kallisto to laugh. "I guess nothing," he said in relief, sitting back down. The head Gym Trainer took out a Poke Ball, peering at it thoughtfully.

"Um..." The boy's curiosity was piqued. What was Kallisto's dream about? And why was he looking at the ball? Pachirisu sat on his shoulder as he plopped down on the single seater. "If you don't mind, what was the nightmare about?" What's the harm in asking? The worst he could say was that it was none of his business.

"Bad memories..." mused the head Gym Trainer.

"Yeah...I know what you mean. Get that sometimes myself." His were infrequent, but they still sometimes came up. "A bad trip, let's just say."

"Mine are from when I was homeless." At this, Kallisto cracked open the Poke Ball. His Raitora formed, and instantly understood what happened. The feline creature started rubbing up against his trainer affectionately.

"Wait, wait. What?" Nori gasped, lurching forward so fast that Pachirisu was nearly thrown off. "You were homeless?" He spared the squirrel a glance as it went over to see Raitora.

"For a couple weeks, yes." Kallisto tapped his chin, eventually nodding to himself. "All I had on me were Lombre, Flaaffy, and the clothes on my back. I was sleeping in an alley one night, and woke up to find them fighting off a pack of Poochyena. Before I knew what was happening, a Mightyena pinned me down. My Pokemon were occupied with the others. I thought I was a goner, but." He eyed his Pokemon, who was now exchanging playful bursts of electricity with Pachirisu. "A certain special Kotora came to my rescue. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be here today." He scratched the feline under the chin. Raitora raised his head to allow him to get deeper beneath.

"That's really nice," the boy mused, hastily clarifying. "Um, how you met your Pokemon, that is. But I never knew you went through that much." 

"A lot do, just not the specifics."

Nori nodded. He felt a bit of guilt for how he was internally calling him perfect all the time. Speaking of, he remembered something. "By the way. Sorry to bring this up now, but uh." He paused, hesitating. He was going to ask Kallisto this today. It turned out to be an inopportune time, but it was now or never! "Well first, I finished my letters. Can you send them out for me?" He'd been so busy and distracted, and revising them a lot, he'd only managed to finish them now.

Kallisto nodded. "I can do that, Carino. What else?"

"Well, my school's having this trip next week. I really want to go, just to get away for a few days. But Volkner hasn't said anything about it. Do you think you can help me convince him to let me go?"

To this, he received a sigh. "Sorry. Not in the right state of mind to debate with him today." Nori wanted to say something, but he couldn't blame him. Whenever he had those kinds of dreams, it messed with his thoughts too. Kallisto continued, "But I know you can do it. Have a bit of confidence in yourself. You've argued with him about things a couple times before, haven't you? Some of us haven't been able to do that at all."

"And? What if I can't?! What if I just mess things up and he says no because of it?"

Kallisto gave this some thought. "Tell you what. I'll swing by in the morning before school if you need me." He smiled. "Sound good?"

"Sounds great!" Just knowing he had some backup injected a lot of confidence into him.

"All right. But for now, you should start thinking about what you're going to say. Most important thing in any battle or speech is preparation, after all." Yes, that made sense. In both respects. He would have to consider this carefully...

\---

While Sunyshore Gym closed early on the weekends, Volkner remained behind until the Gym's usual closing time of 9pm. This was not only to train Nori, but also to attend to administrative matters. Nori waited in the lobby to catch Volkner on his way out the door. The Gym Leader was always the last person to leave, each day. He stood up and in the blond man's way.

"What do you want?" the Gym Leader asked, almost like he wanted to just go around and ignore him.

"Have you decided if I can go on that trip? I need to know by tomorrow." He had decided, and Kallisto agreed, the best way to open was asking that outright.

A pause. "I'm leaning no."

"What? Why?!"

"You're falling behind on your studies. You need to keep at it. That battle yesterday showed you've not been improving since you got here. If anything, you've been getting worse, or complacent."

He did go to move around, but Nori blocked his path. "Please! I've been at this nonstop for a month and a half. I'm worn out, that's why I've been falling behind. I need a break! Breaks are healthy, right? That way I can come back refreshed after a couple days of rest!"

He'd forgotten how he was going to word it, but he got out all of his points. He needed this, at all costs. He wasn't sure how much longer he could last. The constant training was getting to be too much. Even though the other Gym Trainers were starting to act kinder, they still had too many moments. And Kallisto couldn't seem to keep them in-check. Maybe it would only be for a little while, but it WOULD help!

Volkner eyed him in irritation. "Fine," he conceded. "You made a point."

Nori beamed. Yes! That wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be! The Gym Leader reached into his jacket's inner pocket and retrieved the permission slip. He scratched out a signature using only his palm for support and held it out. Nori reached out to take it, but Volkner didn't let go.

The Gym Leader's expression was unreadable. Was it all just a tease? "I expect you to work extra hard once you get back. Understood?"

"Can do!" Nori energetically saluted, genuinely. At this, Volkner let him have the slip and left, locking the door behind him.

As soon he was sure Volkner was gone, Nori leaped into the air and cheered. He was getting a break! Instead of working himself to the bone, he could enjoy himself with Lux and most of his other classmates at Tonsen Land, without a care in the world! Nori went up to his room, and for the first time in a month, had a perfect night's sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally part of the previous chapter, but since adding more Lux scenes there made it too big, I ended up splitting them. But since this ended up too short as a result, I greatly expanded the February 13th bit - in particular adding the scene with Jamie (who I really needed more of anyway) and the third scene at school there. Also used the chance to pick up on some hooks with Kallisto that I didn't have a place for before.


	8. February of Progression (fourth part)

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 17th, 2015_

It was a beautiful winter afternoon. Snow was falling gently from the steely clouds above. The winds were calm, the air gently massaging the skin of anyone outdoors. It was cold, but not frigid.

The Vicious Gutsnik was a vessel built for power and practicality. The emerald-gray hull proclaimed this was not a luxury ferry. It had three levels. Most of the upper and lower partitions were restricted to crew, aside from the decks and the former's battlefields. Below was the parking garage; they briefly passed through when getting off the school bus. This also played host to a marine viewing area. The middle level was where most of the passengers stayed. There were separate decks on the front and back. Most of the inside area was simple metal seating, though there was a lounge at the front, a restaurant at the back, and rooms in the middle which included a play area and a gift shop.

Lux Blomgren was sitting on a bench outside, engrossed in the ship's brochure. His Byzantium-colored hair billowed as the vessel forced through the sea. Spike and others had been bugging him, so he wanted to get away. It didn't help that Nori had wandered off after boarding. He didn't say where he was going or why. Lux wasn't concerned; he knew Nori could handle himself wherever he was. Though he did wonder.

"What are you doing out here?"

Mrs. DeWood stood over him, arms crossed. His teacher was wearing a red and white coat with maroon skirt, black heels, and long socks. How was she not cold dressed like that? Why was she dressed like that?

The meek boy decided to be honest. "Spike was bullying me. I didn't want to be around him." Lux was a constant target for harassment by his peers. Spike was the most common culprit, but other targets of his bullying and even kids in lower grades would pick on him. "Could you tell him not to?"

"Just get inside and stay with the group so I know where you all are." Lux groaned. This was why he rarely brought these things up, besides being beaten up a couple times for being a tattletale. The school rarely did anything about it. Especially Mrs. DeWood. One time Spike was pestering him in front of the whole class, and when he yelled at the bully to stop, she scolded him for causing a ruckus.

The teacher looked about. "Now where'd that Nori run off to..."

"I'll find him!" Lux volunteered. He blurted that out without thinking, and it was a total shock the teacher immediately agreed.

"Just be back as soon as you do." She set off down the deck with purpose, not paying him any further heed.

Lux got up, delicately putting his bag around his shoulders and side of his neck. So where would Nori be? The only place that came to mind would be battlefields. They weren't allowed to take any Pokemon with them, but knowing Nori, he probably sneaked them along anyway. It was as good a place as any to start looking, and at worst, a chance to see Pokemon.

Not two seconds after he had started heading towards the upper deck did he collide with someone. One of the ship's crew, a tall, slim man dressed in a navy blue uniform. He had dark hair with a handlebar mustache and goatee.

"Oh, sorry sir!" He bowed.

The man's fearsome gaze made Lux retreat back several steps. At that moment he saw the gold badge on his chest and the gun at his hip. He was in big trouble! The security officer gritted his teeth. "Fuckin' watch where ya fuckin' steppin', ya little shit."

Lux shuddered. Talk about cursing like a sailor. It was a relief that he only muttered further profanities to himself while walking off. But a thought fleeted through the boy's mind. "Wait!" he called out. When the man turned and glared again, he nearly scurried away on impulse. Lux had to force himself to ask his question. "Have you seen my friend, Nori? He's my age, has a green and black jacket, hair that's dark brown like chocolate, and soft red eyes like cherries."

This would be the quickest way to find his friend. Asking someone else. He just had to hope he'd get an answer.

The crew member paused. "Yeah, I saw'em. Pissin' around on the bottom deck near the liferafts."

The marine viewing area, of course! It was as close to the water as you could get on the ship, and was perfect for seeing sea creatures swimming by. "Thank you, sir!" Lux wasted no time hurrying off, arms lightly outstretched to keep himself steady.

\---

There was very little to the lowermost deck of the ship. There wasn't a direct route from the middle deck to where he wanted to go for some reason; he had to cross through the parking garage. Paths to the side allowed one to go around the sea of cars, at least. As for the marine viewing area itself, there was an opening in the middle of the wall spanning the entire room. It was open-air, though yellow safety netting prevented one from going out except where the lifeboats were. The room itself was industrious and nondescript - black ceiling and floor with dark gray walls. There weren't even places to sit.

It didn't take Lux long to find who he was looking for. A twelve-year-old boy sitting on his lonesome did stand out amongst families and adults.

"Oh, there you are, Nori!" Lux was briefly worried when Nori didn't look particularly happy to see him. At least he didn't look upset either. The quiet boy approached. "What are doing down here? The teacher's looking for you. And Spike's being..." He pressed two fingers together. "You know, Spike."

"Just..." Nori looked away. He briefly glanced out at the sea, but quickly looked down. "...hanging around here."

"Alone and by yourself?"

"I'm...not good with ships."

Lux crouched down beside his friend. "Do you get seasick?"

"Something like that, yes..." Nori turned away.

Oh, that explained things. Was Nori ashamed? "It's okay. Lots of people do." He compounded this assurance with a pat on the shoulder. He would've hugged Nori, but well. His friend didn't like public displays of affection, plus what would people think of seeing a boy hug another boy? "It'll be better if you're not near the water. Want to head up?" Lux offered his hand to help his friend up. If he'd been sitting down for a while, he might need it.

Nori looked at it for a few seconds. He was thinking about it. Eventually, he stood up without help. "I guess..."

Lux allowed Nori to lead the way back. They had only taken a few steps before his friend took pause.

"Hey, does it look like the ship's slowing down to you?!"

The purple-haired boy looked out. It did look like they weren't going as fast as they were. "I think it is. I wonder why?" A chime made up of three pleasant tones came from the PA system. The captain was about to say something.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for sailing with us today. Our ship will be temporarily stopping due to high Pokemon activity in the area." Nori visibly tensed up at this announcement. "If you look off port side, you'll see a pod of Arctic Lapras passing by."

"Lapras?!" Lux gasped. Were they on port side? Lux looked out, scanning the sea for sign of them. Sure enough, there they were! A good dozen of them! Even if they were a variant, the sea creatures were still beautiful. Pale blue bodies with white sections, sharp horns, teeth in their swaying jaws, and a bed of icy spikes on their back. "My favorite Pokemon!"

"Are they dangerous? Will they attack the ship!?"

Lux shook his head, putting a hand on his friend in reassurance. "Arctic Lapras aren't friendly like the regular ones, but they aren't aggressive. They like to show off. They're a meter bigger on average too. They also don't sing and you can't ride on them." Lux preferred the regular Lapras, but still liked these ones. "They're also called, um...what's that one region in Russia?"

"How am I supposed to know that?!" Nori snapped. He immediately apologized. "Sorry, sorry, it's just...I'm uncomfortable, okay?"

"Well, even if they did attack us, ships are built to take Pokemon attacks. And sailors have their own Pokemon to fight others off, just in case." Lux smiled. "You don't have to be worried."

Nori nodded and relaxed slightly. He whispered something to himself, but Lux couldn't hear it clearly over the waves. As the majestic Pokemon swam by, the two boys got an excellent view of the pod as they came within 20 meters of the ferry.

"What's with the big one?" his friend asked. At the front was a bulky specimen over six meters in height. It towered over the rest of them.

"I think that's the leader," Lux stated. It was only a guess, but it was a reasonable one given its size. "The strongest leads the pod to protect them against Pokemon like Sharpedo. I guess they're also the biggest in the Arctic variant." It did have flab and muscle, like it was eating a lot. He hadn't seen Arctic Lapras in-person until now, and he only read so much about them in books and the internet.

The big one leaped out of the water and dove below the surface. "Look, they're diving!" Lux gushed. Lapras were mammals, so they needed air. They could hold their breath for hours though, and sometimes went below the surface when swimming just for fun.

As the leader surfaced once more, it vocalized. On that cue, they all jumped and dove at once, generating an impressive wave. One that was headed right for them!

The vessel didn't so much as sway from this, yet water funneled through the opening. Lux managed to back away in time, only getting his boots splashed. But it caught some people. A lot of surprised yelps rang out, but there was one very loud, very frightened scream very close by.

His friend had taken a direct hit. Nori was completely drenched, squatted down in a fetal position, except his arms were wrapped around his head. He was shaking and breathing heavily, nearly hyperventilating.

"Nori! Are you all right?!" Lux cried, rushing over to his friend. As he leaned in, he could hear the other boy mumbling to himself.

"It's okay, Nori. It's okay. It was just a splash. You're okay."

"Nori?" he fretted. Lux put a hand on Nori's shoulder. He wasn't good at reading others, but even he could tell Nori was not okay.

"It's all okay, everything's okay," he insisted, standing up. "Let's head higher up. It'll be okay."

Lux silently nodded. Nori probably didn't want to talk about this. But as he saw the water dripping from his friend's clothes, he had to speak up. "You should probably get some dry clothes. It's um, cold up there..." He didn't want Nori freezing to death.

Nori looked down at himself, and over to his bag. It didn't seem too wet, so everything inside like his spare clothes should be fine. "Uh, right. I'll find a bathroom and do that..."

##########

The classes arrived near the Survival Area in the afternoon. They all got cheeseburgers and fries for dinner. When bedtime came, they went to a hostel or community center of some kind. Instead of rooms though, they were all brought into this big gymnasium with sleeping bags and pillows.

Rest refused to come to Nori, however. He was too uncomfortable from how weird it was. There were too many other people around, plus it was way too open. He thought about what happened on the boat. He was relieved only Lux and strangers had seen his panic attack, and that no one suspected it was anything but being surprised at getting splashed. He looked to his left, seeing his friend dreaming peacefully beside him. Nori wished he could relax enough to do that.

The boy thought about some things. Thinking helped him get to sleep at times. He considered Jamie. As uncomfortable as she sometimes made him, he didn't hate her. Nori did feel bad that she had to stay in Sunyshore. Speaking of being left behind, he hadn't been allowed to take his Pokemon either. He'd left them both out of their Poke Balls before leaving. The only thing he was worried about was Nidorina causing trouble. It was out of his control for now.

Eventually, he concluded it was no use. Nori carefully extracted himself from the sleeping bag. Once he was out, he got his backpack and tiptoed out of the gymnasium, being careful not to disturb anyone.

He roamed the darkened hallways. He wasn't sure where he was going. As he rounded a bend however, he was met by a slender blonde woman in a floral-patterned dress.

Mrs. DeWood immediately set upon him. "What are you doing still up?" she demanded.

"I...had to use the bathroom," he lied. His next words were truthful. "Um, and I'm having trouble sleeping in there." The blonde woman rolled her eyes at this. Yeah, he didn't blame her. It was a weak excuse. "So, what are you doing still up?"

"That's none of your business." She pointed, lip curling. "The bathroom's back that way. Get back to the gymnasium after you're done."

With this, she left and entered one of the rooms without bothering to check if he was going to do as he was told. He wasn't, of course. He continued to wander, eventually finding his way to the lobby.

Only a few of the lights were on. A woman receptionist or security person looked up at him, but otherwise ignored him. He looked around to see if there were any comfy chairs in the lobby, like there were at the Gym. He was in luck - there were some here. He sat down in a single seater and quickly fell asleep.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 18th, 2015_

Nori faced no consequences for doing that. He was roused early by people starting to come in and out of the building. His teacher did confront him when a few kids (Lux excluded, surprisingly) were concerned he wasn't there when they got up. He said in reply that he got up early and went for a walk, taking a nap on the seat. It was technically true! Thankfully, the receptionist didn't bother or snitch on him.

The next morning started off with eating pancakes. Nori never had these before, but was happy to try something different. They were good, but not very filling. He also felt these were better suited for dessert than breakfast.

They got on the bus just after 10am. It was an hour's ride away to their destination. Tonsen Land wasn't much to look at. Aside from some concession stands, including ones for cold drinks and ice cream (in winter, no less), there wasn't much to see. It looked to Nori like it was just a park near a volcano. Did they really have to ride a stupid boat and come all this way here when they could've gone to any park in the city instead?

The teacher led them through the grounds. Where were they going? Why couldn't they just start running around now? They got closer and closer to the mountain itself. Nori noticed there was an opening they were headed towards. Were they going to look around inside?

The entry tunnel was well lit. It was warm inside, as Nori expected a volcanic cave might be. They passed by a hallway on the side and kept going into the main chamber. It was very bright, almost as if it was a building built into the cave itself. The teacher was talking, probably giving instructions, but Nori was too stunned by what he was seeing for any of it to register.

It was a water park. An indoor hot spring water park! There was a big pool, a little pool, and various waterslides, including a gargantuanly long, massively tall waterslide that led into the big pool. Just looking at it made Nori nauseous. There was a tiny pool that seemed like a sauna and what looked like a bunch of sprinklers and playground-esque equipment in a separate segment. And a lot of other details Nori couldn't take in because it felt like he was being choked.

"What is this?!" he nearly screamed. "Why are we here?"

Most of the kids had already run off, but Lux was still at his side. His friend appeared puzzled. "Didn't you know? We voted on it earlier in the year and–oh, that's right. I'm sorry. You moved here, so you didn't hear we'd be going there at the end of last semester."

"Should've at least known what Tonsen Land is." Spike was still here too, unfortunately. The bully strutted up to them in disbelief.

"No, I didn't! I thought it was an amusement park!"

The chunky boy arched an eyebrow. "What're you, sheltered?"

Nori glared and held out a fist. "No, and screw off." He really didn't know what this was. He might've heard it on the radio once or twice, but he didn't pay attention to the commercials. Least of all commercials about stuff like this! Spike shrugged and walked away. He was close to chasing after Spike and hitting him anyway, only to be stopped by Lux placing a hand on his back.

"It's okay Nori," he assured with a light backrub. "Just try to have fun anyway, all right?"

That was easy for him to say. Of all the places they had to come to, why did it have to be a water park? He'd rather have gone anywhere but here. He wasn't prepared for this! Wait, that's right!

"I can't," he stated, not hiding his elation. "I don't even have swim trunks." That was his out. He wouldn't have to get in the water, because he couldn't! So instead of this he could...play outside? Just sit and watch? Flood the bathrooms as a prank? All preferable options!

"Ain't no problem, bro."

A muscular man close to two meters hopped down from a tall white chair. His black hair was shaved thin, and he was wearing flip-flops, partially transparent sunglasses, a yellow and white shirt that didn't cover his chest, and really tight swim briefs that seemed like his private parts could fall out of at any time.

"Swimwear can be rented, so you're covered there." Nori wanted to collapse as he heard those words. There went his excuse. "By the way, I'm Billy Ordride." He flashed a grin and pointed to his chest with a thumb. "Lifeguard and surfer. Fit as a fiddle, and ripped like a Machoke." He flexed his arms, demonstrating it wasn't hyperbole.

"I can see that," Mrs. DeWood remarked, studying the man's abs. She made a weird noise, as if trying to imitate a cat Pokemon.

The lifeguard chuckled at her. "Like'em? Can show ya more later." he asked with a smug-looking grin that didn't seem completely smug. "Anyway, little dude. Just surf on down to the rental spot. Just hang a left past the lockers. Can't miss'em."

"That's great, Nori!" Lux said. "It means you don't have to just sit around doing nothing!"

There was no way out of this. He was going to have to get in the water.

\---

Nori made sure to waste as much time as possible getting to the swimwear rental place. He found out they could use cubby-holes or lockers to store their things in, the latter for a small fee. That explained why some just left their stuff on the bus. He went with a locker, feeling that was safer and it would take a little longer. Volkner had given him some pocket change for the trip. But no matter how much he stalled, it was only delaying the inevitable.

It was just staff and the two sixth grade classes in the water park. A bunch of girls and a couple boys were in the sauna. They actually invited him in, but he settled for the shallowest side of the little pool where the water only reached up to his waist. He occasionally squatted down to his shoulders to submerge his body, but always made sure to grasp the side of the pool tight as he did so. He didn't dare go any further, just wanting to be left alone in peace.

"Oh, there you are!" After about half an hour, Lux found and smiled down at him. Nori guessed he'd been in the deep end, from the water dripping off his body. His purple hair was in a single sheet, reaching just to his shoulders. It was so different, seeing it not sticking out everywhere.

Well, maybe it was ten minutes to find him. Or even five. Nori didn't know anything at this point except that every moment was a drain on him. The worst part was, he wasn't sure how long he'd have to be in here!

Actually, he could ask that. "How long as we going to be here for?"

"I think the whole day. Why?"

"...no reason."

His friend carefully got in next to him. Nori was mildly surprised, and a bit disheartened at himself. Lux had such a slim and slender frame, and the smooth skin of someone who barely sees physical activity. And he was swimming like it was nothing.

"So what's wrong?" Was his discomfort that obvious? Great. He hoped it was just a friend picking up on another close friend's habits. And not seeing right through him.

"I just..." Nori started. What should he say here? What excuse should he make up? "Well. This isn't what I had in mind."

"I know it's not an amusement park, Nori." He tensed up as Lux put a hand on his shoulder. "But it's a water park! You can still do all sorts of things here!"

"Mmmm."

"Are you...not having fun here?"

"Not really, no."

"Oh." He let go. "I guess it isn't for everyone." At least he understood that much. It gave Nori a bit of hope Lux would understand his real reasons, but he didn't want to admit those to even him.

"So what is this place, anyway?" Nori asked, trying to bring the subject away from this. He added some clarification, "I honestly never heard of it."

Lux beamed, excited to explain. "Tonsen Land is Japan's only underground water park! It's one of the few in the world that uses hot springs, too. It operates year-round, and people call it one of the best places in Sinnoh to visit!" Even given the current situation, Nori couldn't help but smile at his friend's enthusiasm. It was good to see Lux genuinely happy. "I always wanted to come here myself, and now I'm here!" The purple-haired boy lightly giggled.

"Heh, you forgot somethin'."

Nori growled. That was Spike's voice. A thought fleeted through his mind. If he got in trouble, would he not be allowed to swim? That would be ideal. But if he did that, he'd definitely be right back to where he was socially in Veilstone.

"What're you doin' in the kiddy pool?" the chunky boy mocked.

He swallowed his pride and resisted the urge to grab their harasser by the legs to pull him in. Instead he leaned back, trying to look as calm as possible. "Relaxing. This is a hot spring."

Spike shook his head dismissively. "Well, there's one more thing this place is known for." He looked right at Lux as he spoke his next words. "Of course, a pussy like you wouldn't want to talk about it."

"What's your deal?!" Nori yelled.

Spike pointed. "Look up there," he said, gesturing to the massive waterslide they'd seen earlier. "Jigoku Kyūkō. The Hell Express. Seventh tallest waterslide in the world at 35 meters. You can hit up to 60 kilometers an hour on it." He grinned devilishly. "Everyone else is too chicken to ride it."

"Even you?"

"Heh, I'm goin' to," he smoothly brushed off with a wave of his hand. "I just wanted to see if you had the balls to." He squatted down at Nori's level, looking him right in the eyes as he issued the challenge. "So? Think you can handle it? Or are you a chicken like the rest of them?"

Nori was out of the water in an instant. "Fine! I'll show you!"

He started marching over in its general direction, only to be stopped by someone grabbing at him. "Nori, no!"

He pulled away, but halted on seeing it was Lux. "What?"

"You don't have to do this!"

"I'm not backing down." He couldn't say no, not here!

"He's just provoking you!" He was aware of that, but if he didn't, he wouldn't hear the end of it. Doing this would shut him up. "Besides, it's dangerous! You could get hurt!"

Nori took pause. Lux was right. He accepted it while barely thinking of that. He looked to Spike with reluctance, only then noticing the other kids who had gathered. They were all looking at him. No, he couldn't back down now.

"It...wouldn't be here if it could hurt people," he reasoned, voice trembling. If it was dangerous, it'd have been shut down. "Right?"

"You scared?" Spike asked.

"No!" Yes.

"Then prove you aren't."

"Fine!"

"Nori, please! Don't!" his friend begged.

"I'll be fine, Lux," he assured. Yes, this was dumb. But it would all be good when he could challenge Spike to do the same after. This was going to be fine! "I hope," he mouthed. Lux looked as if he wanted to speak more, but ultimately said nothing.

They set off towards the massive waterslide. It had become much quieter, a large number of kids having stopped their own activities to watch this. One part of Nori felt this was a death walk, but another part of him was too fired up to care. They had to ascend a couple flights of steps and several dirt inclines to reach the mouth. Nori eventually noticed Lux wasn't following along, and stopped.

"Backin' out?" Spike taunted.

"No way! Just looking for Lux." A quick glance over the water park and he found him, standing near the large pool where the slide ended. Nori waved; the purple-haired boy nervously returned it. Nori contently sighed. "Okay, let's go." That was a relief. He wasn't going to come up with him, but he would be there at the bottom. He was still supportive of this choice. This...impulsive, stupid choice. That he really shouldn't have made.

Jigoku Kyūkō had extra instructions next to it. One at a time, and telling riders to keep their limbs tucked in as much as possible. There were safety railings all around, all the way up to the rocky ceiling. One could see the entire water park from up here. The height didn't bother Nori as much as seeing what was waiting below.

He was frozen to the spot. This was a bad idea! He knew that the whole time. He should've listened to Lux and just stayed down there. Being made fun of would've been bad, but it was nothing compared to dying! But everyone was still looking at him. If he turned back now, it would be social suicide! There was no way out of this!

He looked at Lux one more time, then over the view. It might be the last thing he ever saw. His eyes soon fell upon the big white chair. That was right! This would be fine. If he had trouble in the water, there was that lifeguard. He might be humiliated that way. In fact, he probably would. But he'd be alive. And no one would be able to say he didn't have to guts to go down the Hell Express, whereas none of them even tried.

"So? You gonna go or what?"

There was definitely no turning back now, anyway. Remembering there was a lifeguard on duty eased his fears enough that he felt able to try this.

"You'll be fine, Nori," he said to himself. "Nothing to do but do it." He took a deep breath and jumped down.

The ride started off innocuously enough. A simple curving slope. No different from a playground slide, just much less steep and there was water at his back. A blast of cool air hit as the slide briefly went outside. He was picking up speed. Nori held his breath. It twisted back into a transparent tube section within the mountain. It was over two meters in diameter. At least he wasn't going to fall out.

The waterslide continued. There was a sharp slope that built up his speed. It bottomed out so quickly that Nori thought he was going to get tossed into the air. Instead he was shifted, riding along the right side of the pipe. Another twisty turn as he was going down took him to the left side. This was followed by a swift loop. It was a soft horizontal incline, but at the speed he was going it made Nori feel like he was going to ride on the ceiling.

This was fun.

"WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!"

Nori felt like a bird gliding through the air! It was like he was weightless, yet gracefully moving about as the massive waterslide took him in every direction imaginable. To boot, he was getting an amazing view of the entire park as the pipe seemingly took him all around it. Even as he was getting closer to the bottom–

He remembered. There was water at the bottom.

He was going so fast he couldn't brace for impact. He barely managed to hold his breath before he was flung deep beneath the surface. He shut his eyes as liquid began to assault them. It stung. It was that chlorine stuff they put in swimming pools.

He had to swim. Move his arms! He didn't know where he was or even if he was swimming in the right direction. He just moved his arms outward and inward in a desperate attempt to reach the surface.

While unsure how long he was under, Nori did break through above water. He immediately took a deep breath, savoring the hot air around him. But he was still way in the deep end. It felt like it was sucking him under. He opened his eyes, but had to shut them again right away. They still hurt! He forced them open just enough to see where he was. Right in the middle of the pool. He began to flounder.

"Hel–"

No, he couldn't shout that! He needed it, but he couldn't yell for it! He was managing to stay afloat, somehow. But it was fine. He didn't need to. The lifeguard would see he was having trouble and come help him. His eyes were hurting less, he was able to open them more. He looked over to the big tall chair.

Where was the lifeguard?!

Real panic set in. Nori desperately looked around for the closest shore. To his left! He had a general idea how to stay above water, but barely knew how to swim! He only had instinct to go on. He leaned forward and began flailing his legs. He moved his arms in and out, trying to propel himself forward. When he started to sink, he just paddled harder.

His goal was getting closer, closer. He wasn't going to die, he refused to die. He had to keep going. He might make it, he might be okay! The edge of the water was right there! He would make it! Nori reached a hand out.

It slipped off the stone. With a yelp, he grabbed at it with the other hand and yanked himself towards before it could happen again. The boy didn't want to be in here for any longer. He pulled himself up with all his might.

He knocked his head on something hard and fell back in.

\---

"NORI!!"

Lux couldn't believe his friend actually went through with this. Maybe he should've gone up to try one last time to dissuade him. He didn't do it because of the huge crowd, but he wanted to at least watch. To his relief, Nori made it down the slide without incident. His friend even seemed to enjoy it! That was, until he had to swim. Lux was ready to jump in and help at a moment's notice, but Nori thankfully didn't need it. Until he bashed his head on the diving board trying to get up.

"Help him!"

He looked to the lifeguard's chair, only to realize in horror, it was empty! Lux's head and eyes around. He scanned the entire water park. All he saw were his classmates, all just watching, stunned. No lifeguard or any other adult in sight! Not even the teacher!

"Someone find the lifeguard!" he yelled, praying that someone would listen to him. He had to save Nori. He was had only a single arm draped on the ledge. He was just barely floating while groaning in pain.

He was over to Nori in seconds, reaching out to grab his friend's arm. Nori instinctively clutched on, thankfully not unconscious. Lux pulled with all his might. A couple other kids jumped in and helped, one girl assisting on his side and a tall guy taking Nori's other arm. A third in the water was swimming over, but they had already extracted him from the pool by then.

"Are you okay?!" Lux asked, sitting down beside him. The other two who helped remained standing close by.

The chestnut-haired boy was staring blankly off into the distance like a Slowpoke might. He did reply, "Y-Yes..." after a few seconds, but this was obviously him trying to be tough. He tried to stand, only to trip over his own feet. Lux and the tall guy caught him before he could fall over.

"I found him!" Another girl came rushing in. "He was naked with the teacher in some room!"

Naked with the teacher? Lux (and a lot of others) went ‘ewww’ at this. The lifeguard thankfully wasn't naked now, having his trunks and sandals on. He was jogging over, recoiling on sight of the dazed Nori.

"Whoa! What happened to this little dude?" Mr. Ordride queried.

"He hit his head on the diving board trying to get out of the water!" someone said.

The lifeguard grasped his face. "Oh shit, I am so screwed!" he muttered, pacing about. "Ain't a way outta this. My job's headed straight over the falls."

"What about Nori?!" Lux yelled. A kid, his friend, his best friend, got badly hurt and all this guy could think about was his own job?! He deserved to lose it if he wasn't doing it!

The lifeguard stopped. He looked up with a sigh. "Fine, sure. I'll get the doctors. I am so fucking screwed..." The muscular man wandered off as if he were lost.

Lux could only hope he was actually going to do so. His friend needed help, and the best he could do was comfort and console him until it arrived. He turned his attention back to him, who was still sitting there holding his temple, completely out of it. He sat down beside him. "Don't worry Nori, help's coming."

The chestnut-haired boy let out a groan, eventually acknowledging with a nod.

##########

What happened over the next few hours wasn't clear to Nori.

He was taken to the hospital where some tests were run. The one that stood out most was the doctor looking at his eyes and then shining a small light which nearly blinded him. He was asked what he could remember. Nori wasn't sure how this started, just that he was somehow up there with everyone watching him expectantly. He remembered being in the water and hitting his head vividly though. That was burned into his mind.

The other thing that stood out was the doctor's diagnosis. "Well, looks like you have a little concussion," she said. She spoke to him as if he were a small child, which annoyed him, but he was too exhausted to argue. "When you hit your head, it hurt the insides. It's just a wee little bump, thankfully. You're going to need lots of rest and naps over the next week."

The next thing he was aware of, he was being roused by a nurse telling him someone came to see him. He was disoriented, but would always recognize Lux on sight.

"Hey."

"Hi." Nori tried to sit up. He had to push himself up with his arms to do so. It was at this point he noticed, they'd dressed him in a mint green hospital gown.

"How...are you?"

Nori covered his eyes, suddenly noticing the glare. "My head hurts. The lights are too bright. And I'm tired, but not sleepy. The doctor said I have a concussion."

"Oh..."

The chestnut-haired boy tried to chuckle, but it was a blatantly nervous one. "I'll be okay in a week." Nori sighed and turned away. "Physically, at least."

A nod. "That's good."

He knew it. He just knew as soon as he saw that water park something bad was going to happen. He could feel it. He'd nearly died. "Was that...you helping me out of the water?" The whole incident was a blur. Whoever helped him had purple hair, but that isn't rare.

"I did," Lux confirmed. "I couldn't just watch, and no one else was doing anything! The teacher and lifeguard weren't there either! One of the other kids found them hanging out together naked, and they brought you here after."

Naked? Weird. Aside, Lux delivered these words with passion. He'd never known his friend to be anything but docile, but it sounded like he had been and still was pissed off. "Thank you. I wasn't sure." He was in a way glad it was someone who cared about him, and not some random person.

A silence drew over the two friends. Nori wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't sure if he wanted to say anything. This had all happened for stupid reasons. Very stupid, embarrassing reasons. Even someone like Lux would give him hell about it. Especially given he told him not to and he didn't listen.

"Um." Nori looked up as he was addressed. Lux had sat down beside him. "Sorry if this is personal, Nori. Do you–"

"Yes, I hate water, okay?!" he snapped. There, he said it! He was afraid of water. "I hate being in it, I hate being on boats, I hate beaches, I sometimes freak at big Water-type moves...I just don't want to be anywhere near it!" The most he could handle was rain and being in the shower.

Lux was wide-eyed. "I...I don't know what to say," he said, scooting closer to where their hips were nearly touching. "I'm sorry, I thought you just didn't know how to swim. But you're afraid of water?"

He groaned, burying his head in his palms. "I barely know how to swim, either..." he said with a sigh. He was frankly amazed he didn't sink to the bottom of the pool right away. He tried to learn by reading books and going to the shore, but every time he got in he panicked and got out right away. Like, what if a wave got him and dragged him out to sea? Bad memories were rushing back.

Lux listened empathetically, worriedly. He looked like he desperately wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything. But he was here with him. That meant everything. Nori felt a sudden urge to talk about what had happened. He'd never told this to anyone before, not even Maylene or Rashid.

"I nearly drowned when I was eight. My ma won a cruise in some contest, but she couldn't afford a babysitter or trust anyone else. So she took me along."

He was actually excited for the cruise at first, even if his mom was less than enthused to be bringing him. It would be his first time out of Veilstone City since he was a baby, and given his lack of interest in Pokemon, it would be one of the few times he would be able to. He promised his mom he wouldn't bug her much. The only things he could clearly remember from it now were the incident, and how a sailor told him to stop running around so much.

"I don't know how it happened," he said. Nori remembered that day well, yet it was hazy. "I think I was leaning over a railing when the ship rocked. Ma was off somewhere. I heard shouting. I don't know if it was me or other people or both. Then I remember trying to swim to the ship, but going under. I couldn't hold my breath long."

He shuddered, fighting off the flashback threatening to consume his mind. "Then I felt something pushing against me. I saw...something. Big, and blue I think. Maybe a Pokemon." It was a safe assumption. No one said they did anything, so it might've been a wild one. "The next thing I remember, I was in the ship's hospital with my ma and a doctor."

So there it was. That was why he was afraid of water and swimming and being on boats and anything to do with water in general. That was why he tried to avoid it as much as possible. Even just talking about waves and other sea-related things could make him tense up, like how he knew a few people squirmed when gross things like bugs or surgery were mentioned. He had nightmares for almost a year after that incident, and sporadically to this day. His mom couldn't afford anything like hypnotherapy to help. He doubted it would work, anyway.

Lux eventually spoke. "Big and blue? Maybe it was a Lapras?"

Nori shook his head. "I don't think so. It was smaller and rounder."

"Round? It might have been a Wailmer, then."

"Whatever it was, if it wasn't for that, I would've..." He shut his eyes, not wanting to finish that thought.

The next thing he knew, Lux's arms were around him. His friend was holding onto him lightly, comfortingly. Nori could take no more. He hugged Lux back, clutching him as tight as he could. He fought back his tears and urge to scream as he hyperventilated into his friend's shoulder.

Lux for his part didn't seem to mind being squeezed. "It's okay," he said, rubbing Nori's back. "No wonder you're afraid of water."

"This didn't help either..."

"Yeah...but, I'm glad you're okay." Lux let go, sniveling. He was tearing up.

Only at that moment did Nori realize. He must have worried his friend sick, recklessly doing this and hitting his head like a stupid moron. Lux was just as in need of comfort as he was. He opened his arms, and Lux promptly fell back into them. They hugged, tight. He gently stroked his friend's back as he quietly sobbed into his shoulder. Several long seconds passed, maybe minutes. Their grip eventually relaxed. The boys just sat there, holding each other.

"Excuse me," a voice eventually cut through the room.

Nori let go in a hurried rush. He was relieved to see it was only the doctor. The brunette woman was standing there in her white uniform, a clipboard under her arm.

"Your time's almost up. He's going to need plenty of rest."

"Okay." Lux solemnly stood. "Mrs. DeWood said to tell you we're going back in the morning. And don't worry, I have your stuff."

Nori quietly nodded. That would mean getting on the ferry again. He hoped he would have a good place to rest on it. So he could sleep and not have to think about any of this.

Lux waved lightly. "See you tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lux." Nori thought for a moment, before adding, "For everything."

The purple-haired boy smiled lightly. "You're welcome. And thank you, Nori."

Lux impulsively held out his arms for a moment, dropping them just as fast. Nori glanced at the doctor. Maybe it was that bump on the head making him not care, but Nori hugged him one last time right in front of her, just briefly.

The doctor ushered Lux out of the room and turned the light off. He would've preferred having a friend beside him, but turning off that annoying glare was okay too. Apparently light sensitivity was another thing about concussions.

Nori leaned back on the bed and closed his eyes. It didn't seem like sleep was going to come, so instead he thought. About this trip, about his training, about his troubles at school and at the Gym. And about Lux. He wasn't sure how to put into words how much Lux meant to him. Even if he was just there for him when he needed it, that was all Nori really needed or wanted out of a friend. Someone who would stick by him no matter what. Someone who liked him unconditionally. A person who liked Nori for himself. Lux was that and much more.

Nori was feeling a lot of regrets at the moment, but one thing he didn't regret was standing up for Lux that day in January. They'd known each other for less than a month, but they'd already formed a strong, deep bond. And Lux was Nori's calm in this storm...

\---

As soon as he left, Lux burst into tears once more.

He had always been seen as weird, ever since kindergarten. He was the kid who was always picked on, the kid everyone spread rumors about, the kid no one wanted to partner with in class. A lot of it was because of those like Spike and people following their lead. But at times, it felt like he had an aura that repulsed others. No one had wanted to be his friend, except Nori. He was so good to him, way more than he deserved. Nori truly liked him, and he liked Nori. In fact, maybe he liked Nori a little more than boys should like each other. But he'd nearly lost him.

Worst of all, this was his fault. If he hadn't been with Nori, Spike never would've come and challenged him to go down that waterslide. He was being targeted by Spike just because they were friends.

There was never a second where Lux was not thankful for Nori being in his life, but he also felt his friend would be better off if they hadn't met at all...


	9. February of Progression, fifth part

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 20th, 2015_

"Hey."

"Hi."

Thursday had just been going back and getting some rest. Nori slept through most of the trip, too exhausted to be hydrophobic. He still had school on Friday. Thankfully he didn't have to walk; Kallisto actually arranged a cab for him the night before, and said to call his cell if he needed a ride back.

"Are you...feeling better?" Lux asked. He had been waiting for him in the schoolyard.

"Head still hurts." He pressed a hand to it. "Can't think right."

"Mom and dad found out what happened."

"Oh great..." Nori wished he could fall down right there and go back to sleep.

"It made the news." That made sense. A lifeguard scandal at the water park, and a kid nearly dying. Nori had a vague memory of some interviewer trying to get a statement. Thankfully somebody shooed him or her off.

"But it's fine. Mom's okay with us being friends now. Even if she doesn't like you personally."

Nori found it in him to smirk. "Enough to visit me on the weekend?" He wanted to slap himself as soon as he said that, only restraining because of already being pained enough. It was stupid to even ask that. He hadn't been thinking right since hitting his head.

Lux warmly smiled at the prospect of this. "I'll ask her." From his friend's tone, it seemed there might be a chance. Maybe it wasn't so stupid after all...

\---

"I told you I would be busy."

As they were heading down the hall, Nori overheard the other 6th grade teacher, Mr. Miles, in an argument with Mrs. DeWood. They were in a small meeting room, and had accidentally left the door ajar. Nori paused to listen in.

"You should've been supervising the kids," their teacher countered

"I was getting the bus fixed so we could make it back, Desiree."

"And I had urges of my own, Bia'," she said his name, or probably a shortened version of it, in the most derisive tone possible. "Women can have them too." The blonde woman turned and noticed the two standing just outside. "This is none of your business. Get to class. I'll be in shortly." She glared right at him before slamming the door.

Their teacher was annoyed at him since the trip. Was it for causing her hassle? Well she was still his teacher, somehow, so Nori wasn't sure why she was so mad. His friend growled, making his thoughts on the situation clear. Didn't he say there were other reasons he didn't like her, too?

\---

He couldn't believe that teacher.

She somehow kept her job after not watching them like she was supposed to?! Lux already disliked Mrs. DeWood for her apathetic attitude and not doing anything to stop his bullies. But with this injustice and how she was treating his best friend, the boy he...well. Either way, the sooner he got out of sixth grade, the better!

Lux led the way to their classroom. When they entered, a girl with ruby-toned hair looked towards them. Her eyes lit up, nearly sparkling.

"Nori!" Jamie called out. She rushed over and placed her hands on Nori's waist. "I heard what happened! I am so sorry! Are you okay? How are you feeling today? Is there anything I can do? Do you need a hug?"

She was all over him! Nori didn't know what to do, only mumbling.

"Stop it! He's tired, and you're not helping getting close and asking all these questions!"

Lux covered his mouth. He didn't mean to yell, let alone so loud. Everyone was looking at him; Spike in particular was grinning maliciously. What did he just do? What was going to happen?

"Oh! Are you?" Nori's admirer let go of him and lightly bowed, much to both of their relief. That could've gone badly. "Sorry. I'll give you some space. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

His friend nodded politely, but Lux could tell it was just that, out of politeness. "Thanks." Nori lightly chuckled.

"Um, don't uh, mention it..." He still couldn't believe himself. All he wanted to do was help Nori, he didn't mean to draw so much attention or to get angry at Jamie. What would people think about this?! What was Nori thinking right now? His friend's face and words gave no hint to that.

Maybe it was better to just ignore the subject for now. Yes, that would be for the best! He hastily took his seat.

\---

It was nigh impossible for Nori to focus at school. There were moments where he had to stop and think about basic math and simple words. At lunch, he just napped in the kindergarten hall, relying on Lux to wake him up. His otherwise difficult school day was capped off with some good news: Mrs. Blomgren actually relented! His friend would be coming to visit on Saturday at around noon! This burst of euphoria helped carry him on the walk back to the Gym.

It was a mistake to do that much walking. By the time he got back, he wanted to collapse and go to sleep. He'd pushed himself way too hard. Ollie accosted him as soon as he stepped in, bringing him to the battlefield. There was no good news awaiting him. "What do you mean I have to battle?!"

"Just as I said," Volkner told him. "It's exhibition day. Every 20th of the month. I want you taking part in this one."

Exhibition day. Yes, that was today. He only had to watch last time. "But I can't!" Nori protested. "I'm supposed to be resting, not...thinking, like you have to in a battle!"

"Sorry, Carino," said Kallisto with a sigh. "We tried to convince him, but he insisted."

"We?"

"Tono and I. Eddie a bit too." Nori glanced at the two, sitting on chairs in front of the bleachers. For the most part, the Gym Trainers had been sympathetic to his injury. They nodded at him as Kallisto continued, "Well, try to think of it this way. Are you going to let this beat you? Or will you push through and not let it get you down?"

The boy's head throbbed, and he clutched at it with a groan.

"Know it'll suck, but you need to at least try. Okay?"

Nori could only sigh. Much as he'd like to try and not let this stupid accident beat him, actually doing so was another story. At least Nidorina could battle without orders. With any luck, he'd only have to do one or two of these...

\---

"Carino, focus!"

Nori snapped to, turning to his right. Kallisto was beside him. Across on the other side were twin siblings, a black-haired boy and girl. Raitora appeared to be convulsing in his sleep. The Demon was surrounded by a Gengar and a Machamp. She avoided a Shadow Ball and slid between the lunging blue humanoid's legs, tripping it and running over to her ally. With a roar, she smacked it awake, and immediately turned her attention to Nori. Her concern was palpable.

"I-I told you," he stuttered, trying to save face. "I'm fine. Now kick their asses." That was all she needed to hear, and she rushed back into the fray.

"Raitora, back her up with Thunderbolt!" shouted Kallisto. He turned to Nori, speaking quieter. "You didn't tell her that."

"Did I? Ugh..." Maybe he thought he was going to, and forgot.

"It's fine. Now that Raitora's awake again, we can finish this." Their opponents had shouted orders, but Nori didn't hear them. "Dodge and use Crunch on Gengar!" Kallisto didn't miss a beat.

Nori looked up. Crunch, double Crunch? Machamp was staggered. Nidorina was already on it, though. Yes, she could handle this. Kallisto could handle this too. His mind started to drift away again...

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 21st, 2015_

Nori went directly to his room and fell asleep after that battle. He slept for three hours before getting up for a snack and to use the bathroom. He accidentally fell asleep in the trainers' lounge, and this time slept for ten hours. Yet when he woke up, it was with excitement. Today was the day!

He remained upstairs for most of the morning, heading down just after 11:45 and going outside to wait for Lux. A short time later, he showed up! He actually showed up! The two friends happily greeted one another. Luckily, all Mrs. Blomgren did was eye him distrustingly; she was otherwise cordial. She would be returning sometime before dinner, whenever that was for them.

As soon as the blue station wagon was out of sight, Lux hugged Nori tight. It was so unexpected Nori took a full five seconds to reciprocate.

His friend giggled sheepishly. "I wanted to do that right away, but I wasn't sure what mom would think." Nori hummed, content. He really needed that hug. It felt especially nice out here in the cold. "Feeling any better?" Lux asked as he broke it off.

"A bit. Had to battle yesterday," Nori stated with a groan. "Volkner yelled at me for not doing it how he wanted." The next thing he remembered after that brief interaction with Kallisto was Volkner saying something. They'd soundly beaten their opponents and it wasn't even close, yet he was still mad.

Lux didn't seem to know how to respond to this. "Well, let's go inside for now," he avoided the subject entirely.

They were met by Volkner along with Eddie and Kallisto as they walked through the doors. Ollie and Tono were likely seeing to a potential challenger; were they waiting for him? The Gym Leader's face instantly soured.

"What's he doing here?" he coldly demanded, glaring at the purple-haired boy.

"Visiting." Said friend was shrinking back behind him. Maybe overwhelmed by the presence of Volkner and Kallisto, and possibly Eddie. "Going to relax with him for a few hours."

"No." Volkner crossed his arms.

"Uh, yes?"

"No. I have training set up for you today. We'll be working on attack accuracy and some practice sparring today." The blond man narrowed his eyes. "And this time, you will be giving orders."

Nori was afraid of this. He didn't ask permission himself, banking on them just accepting it now that his friend was here. "Oh, come on!" he fussed. "Can't I spend a little time with him?"

"I told you," said Volkner, deadpan. "I expected you to work extra hard when you got back from this trip. You replied, ‘Got it.’ Now you're back, and you're slacking off."

To Nori's surprise, Lux took a bold step out in front. "But Nori hurt himself!" he tried to argue.

"He should have thought of that before he got hurt." He glared at Lux and pointed. "Go home."

His friend's jaw dropped. If Nori knew there was any way he could get away with it, he would've punched the Gym Leader in the face right then and there. Eddie arched an eyebrow and glared, biting his lip. Kallisto appeared downright horrified Volkner had said this.

"Volkner," the head Gym Trainer spoke up, doing his best to stay respectful. "I think that was uncalled for."

The blond man scratched his cheek. "You're right. Sorry." He looked back at Nori. "Your friend can watch. But I still expect you to train."

The chestnut-haired boy groaned. He didn't want to do any battling today. He couldn't keep up with the action at all yesterday the few times he wasn't out of it, and given how he was suddenly feeling, today would be no different.

"It's okay, Nori," Lux said, massaging his shoulder. "I guess I'll cheer you on."

The sentiment was nice, but it wasn't going to help.

\---

Over the next two hours, Lux had a front row seat to seeing what Nori's experiences at the Gym were really like. He had touched upon it in conversation, but never explained the full extent of things. First, they went to a special training room Nori hadn't been to or noticed before. It was painted a dark blue and was completely empty, though little holes, indentations, and sliding panels on the wall indicated it wouldn't be for long. Lux watched with Volkner, Eddie, and Ollie from behind a glass screen. The other two Gym Trainers were manning the downstairs.

This accuracy training was in the form of another game like the target test, and the objective was to strike the Magnemites which emerged before they could leave. Attacks like Discharge and Swift weren't allowed. Both of Nori's Pokemon had difficulty, to say nothing of himself. Due to the effects of his concussion, he found himself getting disoriented right away, even dizzy. There were times where he felt like he was going to throw up. Pachirisu's lack of experience saw the Pokemon similarly befuddled by so many targets around them so going so many different ways. Worse, the squirrel had problems aiming his Electro Balls - he'd apparently learned it when Nori was away. Nidorina had no trouble with accuracy or focus. But between her strict melee moveset and having to jump to swat at the floating spheres, she couldn't get all of them all of the time.

Every failure was met with a declaration of such by Volkner, followed by Ollie laughing at him and the occasional snarky comment from Eddie. Lux tried to encourage him, but this always led to one of the Gym Trainers piggybacking off his comment to insult either Nori or both of them. Eventually, Lux just apologized and kept quiet.

After what felt like forever, he managed to make it through three consecutive rounds with Nidorina. They caught a lucky break, but Nori wasn't going to complain. Volkner deemed it satisfactory for now, and led them down to the arena for sparring.

"I had no idea, Nori..." whispered Lux along the way.

"Yeah..." he said. "It's this bad at times."

"Are they always...?"

"Not always. Kallisto's good to me, but the other Gym Trainers rarely are." He sighed. They could be good, so why were they bad most of the time? "And I've never seen Volkner this strict before." Had he done something to make the Gym Leader angry?

"Get to your position," barked Volkner as they entered the battlefield. "Kallisto, you're up. This is a practice battle, one-on-one. Both of you will fight to your fullest."

The head Gym Trainer shook his head. "Sorry about this," was all he could say. He sent out his Raitora. Nori brought out Nidorina.

\---

The following battle was even more one-sided than their previous encounter. Kallisto was just so much stronger and better than him, and now they knew most of their tricks. Nidorina was zapped by Thunderbolt and tripped up by Earthquake. She landed a single attack when forcing through a Thunderbolt, but that was it.

"Grass Knot." Kallisto was none too enthused throughout the whole thing, yet was obeying Volkner's order to go all out.

"Jump!" came Nori's panicked order. Nidorina managed to regain her balance in enough time to do so with impeccable timing. She came rushing in, managing to strike with a Shadow Claw. Before she could get going though, Kallisto's final orders came.

"Slam to knock Nidorina back, and finish with Swift Bolt!" Just like that, it was over. A swing of the tail followed by the tiger Pokemon's signature move hurt Nidorina to where she couldn't continue.

"Kallisto wins. Next." The Gym Leader was nonchalant about the result, waving in Eddie without giving anyone time to process it. "Use your Octillery."

"Uh, sure." The dark-skinned boy sauntered up. "Looks like it's Water against Electric, kid. Think you can win?"

"No..."

Volkner was ruthless. "If you give up now, you're a failure of a trainer."

"I'm not. Let's just get this over with..."

\---

As he expected, type advantage couldn't overcome a massive experience difference. The two Pokemon traded blows before Pachirisu was finished off with Double-Edge.

"Eddie wins. No," he corrected. "Nori loses."

Lux rose from his seat at the bleachers. "Why are you doing this to him?!" he cried.

"The point of this," Volkner said, "Was to show him how far he has to go. He did far worse against Kallisto than before, and he did not even come close to defeating Eddie despite a type advantage." The blond man snorted. "He's going to be working with powerful Pokemon, and they won't respect a trainer who can't handle them."

"But what about the Demon?" the purple-haired boy pointed out. "She respects him!"

"Luck. Nothing more than that." He turned his attention back to Nori. "Heal your Pokemon. We're going to the training room for some serious work."

This continued for the rest of Lux's visit. He didn't get to spend any time with him, or even see his friend off.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 22nd, 2015_

There looked to be no end to the grueling training. To Nori's horror, Sunday brought forth the beep test again. He had been tolerating this so far, if only because he didn't think arguing would get him anywhere - plus being too mentally exhausted to do so. But he could take no more of this.

"This is ridiculous!" Nori complained. "I should be resting, not doing straining stuff like this!"

"Yeah!" agreed Ollie. The Gym Trainers were again being made to do this alongside him. "Uh, this is ridiculous! You should listen to him! And, stuff!"

"Quit arguing," Volkner ordered.

"No!" He stamped a foot.

Kallisto tried to assure him with a grin. "Carino, physical activity is good to help recover from a concussion. Just ask Eddie." He nudged the dark-skinned teen, who was not impressed.

"Light physical activity," Nori corrected. The doctor on Batalson Island gave him a kids' guide to them. To recover best from a concussion, you needed to rest your brain and body. Keep hydrated, eat right, limit screen-time (whatever that was), and don't move your head and neck too much. Physical and mental exercise could help after a few days, but it had to be little things. As trying to walk home from school a couple days ago proved, doing too much could make it worse. "I'm being asked to run until I fall over. I'm not doing this not matter what!"

"For crying out loud." Volkner threw up his arms. "I had this planned , I closed the Gym for an hour for it."

"Can't you plan something that's, you know? Not super draining and won't wear me out?"

Volkner sneered, brow furrowed and teeth grinding against each other. The blond man stomped out of the arena through the back door, slamming it behind him. The Gym Trainers were dumbstruck.

"Never seen him that pissed before," Eddie remarked, actually with concern.

Kallisto shook his head. "Now you've done it."

"So what?" the boy ranted. "He's asking way too much of me! I'm not some machine who lives only to learn and train. I barely get any time to myself, and I need some to rest right now! But noooo. He wants to stick to the schedule he had in mind, while being a stubborn piece of sh--"

His word was cut short as the door flew open, banging against the wall. Volkner marched over and dropped a textbook into his arms.

"Start on this, then."

"Okay," he immediately agreed. Anything was better than running right now. The textbook was red with a white spine, looking much like a Poke Ball. It had a picture of a Nidorino fighting a Gengar on the front cover. "The History of Competitive Battling, Volume 1?" he read the title aloud.

"Oh, that's a good one!" Kallisto gushed. "It covers the early beginnings of how Pokemon battling became a sport, from Roman Colosseums to the first tournaments comparable to a modern Pokemon League. You get to learn about all sorts of famous trainers throughout history."

That did seem interesting. Nori wasn't big on history, but he knew you could learn from it. He far preferred this to having to learn hands-on and be expected to pick up on stuff just from experience. "I'll head to my room and start reading, then."

Volkner nodded and waved him off. "The rest of you still have to do this, so get ready."

"Dammit! Fuck!" cursed the hefty teenager.

"Sorry, Ollie," Nori said as he was leaving. He meant it, too. The Gym Trainers never had to do anything like this in January; they were only getting dragged into it because of him. Maybe he was being too nice in feeling sorry for Ollie of all people, but it was part of who he was.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 23th, 2015_

It was a pleasant Monday morning. The sun was shining gorgeously upon the snow-touched city of Sunyshore. Even though it remained as cold as you would expect it to be for a day in February in Sinnoh, its radiant beams lightly massaged those who were outdoors.

Today was the first time Lux Blomgren had been allowed to walk to school in nearly two months. After hearing about his encounter with Spike the first day back in January, his mom insisted on driving him. And yet, Lux could only smile when he thought about that day.

He was where it had happened. In this very field, near this very tree. Spike was bearing down on him, threatening to wash his face in the snow. That was when Nori first came into his life. It was only for a moment, but it allowed him to escape his bully. Lux never imagined they would eventually become friends, nor did he imagine he would come to feel the way he did about Nori.

He wore his aster-colored coat and red snow pants today. He pulled up his sleeve to check his watch. A simple analog, not a Poketch, but telling time was all he needed. As the boy with Byzantium-colored hair looked up, he spotted him. From the looks of it, Nori had seen him a long time ago. He hurried towards his friend.

There were so many things he wanted to say, yet the first thing he ended up saying was, "I'm sorry, Nori."

Nori craned his neck. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I couldn't get them to stop. I'm so useless..."

There was no excuse, he should've done more to stand up for Nori. What a lousy friend he was. Nori had done everything for him, and the most he was able to do get a girl to leave him alone for a bit and save him from a situation he never would've been in if they weren't friends.

Nori squinted. "You tried, that's what matters. I think even Kallisto wouldn't have been able to convince him." That wasn't reassuring to hear. Lux already knew he had no chance of convincing an adult, but his efforts to get those others to stop just made things worse. "The good news is, I got out running yesterday. I have to read up on the history of battles instead."

He acknowledged this with a sigh. "I wish I could spend more time with you..." he blurted.

Nori lightly smiled. "I know, me too. What'd your mom think?"

"I didn't tell her." He simply told her that it went well. It was a lie. She had to have seen through it, but she didn't press the subject further. "If I did, she'd probably say, that's why she doesn't want me having Pokemon."

His friend paused in his tracks. He peered thoughtfully at the ground, tapping his left foot. "I almost don't want to either, if this is how training goes."

This statement didn't come as a surprise. This had to be getting to Nori. It would with anyone. Plus, he was putting up with it since the start of the year, right? Nori said it was bad, but he didn't think it was this bad. And all Lux was able to do was watch, helplessly.

At once, he collapsed to his knees. "I wish I could do more for you..."

His friend sat down and placed an arm around him. "Don't worry, you're already doing plenty."

Nori was probably only saying that to make him feel better. Really, he hadn't done anything. He wasn't sure what he could do for his friend. And he had to know this too. Nori's patience with him had to be nearing its end...

\---

"I got you now, Nori!"

As they entered the schoolyard, Jamie dashed in out of nowhere. She practically tackled Nori with a leaping hug. Lux's eyes stretched wide, as did half of their classmates for that matter. He considered it a testament to his friend's strength that he caught her and managed to stay upright, although he only halfheartedly returned her hug.

She let him go. "So what've you been doing? How's the concussion?"

"I've...been recovering," he awkwardly replied, fleetingly glancing over. "Volkner pushing me extra hard hasn't helped."

"I was there to see some of it," Lux added. "It's bad." He wasn't sure how much he should say, given Nori hadn't been saying much about it either.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Jamie simpered. A lightbulb went off in her mind, and she grabbed Nori's hand. "Maybe you could come over to my place sometime? You could get away from him!"

"I..."

Again, Nori looked over for help. Lux wasn't sure what to say. He was focusing his efforts trying to keep a neutral expression in this situation.

The chestnut-haired boy eventually replied on his own. "I wouldn't mind. That is, if Volkner would even let me."

Jamie clapped her hands, leaving them pressed together. "Great! Is this weekend okay?"

"We'll see."

"Let me know, okay?" She leaned in and planted a wet kiss on Nori's cheek before hurrying to rejoin her friends.

The bell rang seconds later, although neither of them were in a hurry. Nori gently rubbed his cheek in disbelief. His face was flush red.

"Are you going to go?" Lux asked. He was dreading the answer, for many reasons.

"I'm not sure." Nori gently folded his arms over his stomach. "She has a point with getting away from the Gym. If I had to choose though, it'd be you I come visit." He peered up with a hopeful smile.

Lux wished, oh how he wished Nori could visit. It was one of the first things he asked his parents when getting back on Saturday. But, "Mom still doesn't want you coming over."

His friend deflated. "I thought so."

"Just visit Jamie if you can." She was so positive. If it was her visiting him on Saturday, she likely would've gotten him out of training. And she could do so much more for him, more than he ever could.

He shrugged. "Like I said to her, we'll see. She's kind of smothering me. I don't know if I want that." He paused. "I think I'd prefer someone who treats me like you do."

Someone like him? That would mean, Nori wouldn't mind if it was him, right? Lux's chest fluttered for a fleeting moment, before reality set in. No, no, that was just crazy to think that. And yet, Lux could deny it to himself no longer. He liked Nori, the same way Jamie liked him. But, Nori probably didn't like boys. He could just be grossed out by it. He might not even want to be friends anymore if he knew this.

"Something on your mind?"

Lux looked up. Nori had taken a few steps before realizing he wasn't following, and was now looking back with warm curiosity.

"Just thinking about a few things," he replied. It would be nice. Lux couldn't help but smile at the prospect. What if Nori didn't care they were both boys? It was just a fantasy, sure. But one could dream. "Let's get to class."

\---

Later on at the Gym, Nori was mercifully only made to work in the training room with his Pokemon. The boy was able to relax while his two Pokemon got exercise and sparred with some of the resident Pokemon. The most he had to do was tell Nidorina to take it easy on that Elekid.

That was, until he heard a familiar scream. Pachirisu recognized it right away; he was dashing back and forth on a balance beam before this, nearly falling off in surprise. The squirrel looked over inquisitively.

"Just keep training," Nori said, rising to his feet. "I'll go check on him."

It was the right thing to do, and he was a bit concerned. He made the short jaunt to the trainers' lounge, and sure enough, it was Kallisto. Not on the floor this time, fortunately. "Another nightmare?" he groggily asked.

"Yeah." The head Gym Trainer was anything but tired. Nori didn't blame him. No matter how sleepy you are, nightmares wake you right up. "Might have been residual from that Gengar on exhibition day," he speculated.

How did that work? Well, whatever. He probably wouldn't be able to understand right now. "I haven't been dreaming. Probably would have nightmares too if i hadn't hit my head."

"Lucky." Kallisto chuckled.

"It's not worth it."

"I know. Take what you get, though."

That was true. Nori turned to head back, when Kallisto called for him.

"Hey, Carino. Do you want to hear how it happened?"

It? What was he talking about? Maybe this was Kallisto wanting to talk to someone, about something? Nori carefully nodded and took a seat. He could listen. To whatever it was.

"We'd just moved to Bayzon City." That was...in the region west of Johto, north of Hoenn, right? Its name escaped him. "My family and I were in a car accident. My mother and older sister didn't make it. My dad..." Kallisto paused, lightly clenching his fists. "He blamed me for everything. A couple days later, he threw me out of the house."

Anger shot through Nori's body, giving an injection of adrenaline. "What the hell?!" he yelled. "That's horrible! He should be arrested!"

"About that..." the head Gym Trainer continued. "I slept outside with my Pokemon, hoping it was just him in a bad mood." He took a deep, shaking breath. "Flaaffy woke me up in the middle of the night. The house was on fire. Lombre tried to control it, the fire department soon arrived, but...it was too late. Dad was already gone. They said his cigar..." Kallisto trailed off.

The boy winced. He believed bad people should get what they deserve, but dying was too much for his tastes. "So did no one help you?!" Nori asked. "Why did no one adopt you, or take you to an orphanage?!"

The orange and pink haired teen wiped a tear. "It's not as simple as just taking a kid home to adopt them," he explained. "And they were going to take me to an orphanage, but I didn't want to go." He looked down in sad contemplation. "My friend back home, Arianne. She had to go to one herself. The staff there treated her awful. They'd do things like make her clean the toilets, or hit her on the wrist for using her left-hand."

"Just for being left-handed?!" He was a lefty, and he told every single one of those people to screw off! His Ma supported him on it, too.

"You'd be surprised at what people believe."

"Yeah, I know. So what happened to her? Arianne, I mean."

"When mom found out," Kallisto paused. "My mom, that is. She was furious. She got Arianne's family in Hoenn to take her in. I still talk to her by email, even though we last saw each other in person when we were nine. Doing way better, needless to say." That was a relief to hear.

"But, going back to myself, after the accident and fire, I was living on the streets for a couple weeks. All I had were Lombre, Flaaffy, my bag, and the clothes on my back. I was able to make some money by battling."

"Is that how you got into Pokemon?"

The head Gym Trainer was bemused by this question. "No, I always wanted to. I didn't want to let my family down, after all. I just never thought it'd be how I'd survive for a time. Anyway, the police came and found me after a couple weeks. But it was with good news: the rest of my family stepped in to help. So I moved here, to Sunyshore Gym, to live and train. It was that or live with my cousin's family. And well," and with this he lightly chuckled. "I always wanted to be a professional trainer, and my cousin wouldn't always have time for me."

Kallisto stretched. "So that's it. You're only the third person I've told that in detail, by the way. The only others who know in detail are Tono and my cousin."

The boy blinked. "Really? Why me?" Another thought occurred. "Why not that Arianne friend?"

"Didn't want to worry her." He didn't get that. They were going to find out eventually if they were close, so why bother hiding it? Maybe downplay it, but he wouldn't pretend nothing was happening. "For you, you're a good one, Carino. If you really apply yourself, you'll be an excellent trainer. I know it's not what you want to do, but maybe you should think about it. It could just be a hobby in-between your rehabilitating, or done alongside." He threw his arms up. "Or hey. You could be anything you want. You have that drive in you."

"Maybe," he conceded. "I don't know if I want to be one, since I don't think it'd get me anything." He'd be competing against those who really want it, and sometimes just wanting it more is all it takes. "I get where you're coming from, but why are you bringing this up?"

A shrug. "I know it's not the same, but I guess I can relate to you a bit. I know you've probably had to struggle sometimes, living how you did."

Nori blinked. Did Kallisto actually get that about him? "A little, yes. Ma and me made it all work somehow, but there were times when it was tough. A lot of kids told me I'm mature for my age." He looked away. "Truth is, I had to be."

His life may have seemed easy, especially from how carefree he was compared to other kids. Yet he had to work harder than a lot of kids, just to keep them going. He never underestimated the value of hard work.

Kallisto smiled. "If you work hard and do the right things, everything should work out in the end." Yes, he was saying it too! That was true with everything. "Speaking of, how's your head?"

"Getting better. Still having trouble focusing. And still spacing out at times." Being honest, he was amazed he managed to pay attention and take all of that in.

"I'm fine now," the head Gym Trainer assured. "Thanks for coming to check on me. Go get some rest."

"I will." He stood and went back to the training room. His Pokemon were probably wondering what was taking so long.

##########

_¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··¨··..··February 25th, 2015_

The 24th turned out to be the only break in a string of eventful days. It was just an average day at school followed by coming home to the Gym. All he had to do was read the textbook and let his Pokemon practice on their own. He was going to be quizzed on the first chapter near the start of next month, so he was doing his best to ingrain all of it into his mind. The conversation with Kallisto lingered with him. It was nice to hear most of his thoughts being reiterated by someone else! Now he was sure he was walking the right path in life.

At school on the 25th, he was eating lunch with Lux in their usual quiet spot. It was the only place and time he was able to truly relax during the day.

"Nori, why are you friends with me?" Lux asked after they had both finished eating.

Nori smiled. "Because you're kind and you like me unconditionally. And," He paused and ruffled his hair. Suddenly, he felt very flustered, even if it was just the two of them there. "Lots of other reasons," he gave a quick, vague reply. He wasn't sure how to word it in a way that wasn't weird. "Why?"

The purple-haired boy sighed heavily. "I feel like I'm just holding you down at times..."

"Don't be silly, Lux." He stroked his friend's hair, gently playing with his bangs. "You're my best friend. I don't regret meeting you for a second." Nori patted Lux on the shoulder. When his friend sighed depressedly again, that got him concerned. "Is something wrong? You've been acting a bit strange lately."

Lux shook his head. "No, it's nothing...just, worried."

He figured he knew what Lux was worried about. "Well, don't worry." He flashed a grin. His friend seemed to need him. And as for him, he wasn't sure what he'd do without a friend like Lux right now. "I'd never give you up for anything or anyone. Nothing's going to change how I feel about you."

Lux sniveled, but it was a happy cry. "Nori...I..."

\---

He embraced Nori. Hearing that was a huge relief, but it wasn't what he was really worried about. There was so much he wanted to say, that he couldn't say. What would Nori think about it? What if it just messed things up? What would everyone else think? What would his parents think...

If only...

He wished so, so much that they could be closer.


End file.
